Sweet Temptation
by SessInSunglasses
Summary: AU. Kagome is working two jobs to support her four sisters. She lives next door to Mr. Taisho and his five sons. Will love blossom as these estranged friends become reacquainted once again?
1. Chapter 1

Ok, guys, I'm back! This one's a little different than what you're used to from me, so lemme know if it's a keeper, okay?

Disclaimer: I will say this only once. I own nothing but the idea. Anything other than not belonging to me expressed herin, same. So get off my back! Do I harrass you? No! So get!

**Sweet Temptation**

Kagome Higurashi pulled into the driveway after work, her car stereo blaring. As she got out, her next door neighbour, Mr. Taisho, and his youngest son Shippo, waved to her and called, "Good afternoon, Kagome!"

Mr. Taisho, dropping his rake and instructing Shippo to continue, came over and asked, "How's it been?"

The previous year, Kagome's parents had been in a fatal car accident, leaving her to look after four younger sisters. Kikyou, Sango, and Ayame were triplets, and sixteen years old. Rin, the baby, was twelve, and Kagome herself had just turned eighteen. She'd been working two jobs for the last year just to keep from losing the house, while the triplets were each working part-time at a nursing home three blocks away to pay for the rest of the expenses.

"Alright," she responded, smiling and averting her eyes. He was so handsome, he made her nervous, but she'd never pass up a chance to speak with him.

Daichi Taisho was a single Father. His wife, Hitomi, had left him five years ago, and Kagome remembered what a hard time he'd had raising five sons on his own. The eldest, Sesshoumaru, was older than her by two years, but secretly she'd always thought him to be quite the handsome boy; even though they never spoke and he sometimes smiled when he saw her. She thought maybe he was just shy, but she didn't really have time to find out, either.

He pointed over his shoulder at the house. "Rin's inside, in case you want her," he informed her, putting a hand in his pocket casually.

"Thanks. If she gets to be a bother, just send her home. I know for a fact that she's got homework to do, so I'll likely be calling her soon if you don't kick her out earlier!"

He laughed, and turned to watch his own twin sons pull their hatchback into the driveway.

Inuyasha and Miroku hopped out, laughing and punching each other all the way up the driveway.

Kagome smiled; they smiled back.

_They're so cute_, she thought, seeing the blush rise in each boy's cheeks. Since they were fraternal twins, they looked nothing like each other; Inuyasha had the same white hair of his Father and older brother, but Miroku had brown hair, Kouga had black hair, and Shippo, their youngest, had bright red hair. "Well, I better get making supper, or I'll have a passel of very hungry girls on my hands," she said, walking toward her front door.

Daichi looked at his watch. "You're right, I should get on that, too. What do you boys feel like for dinner?"

"See you guys!" Kagome called, and all three waved back as they climbed their front porch to their front door, disappearing inside.

**S.T.**

Kagome slammed the door. For once, the house was quiet. _The girls must all be at work still_, she thought, and Rin was next door…she had to take this opportunity to draw herself a bath. After a long day at the Doctor's office, answering phones and scheduling appointments, she was exhausted. She'd decided to take this weekend off; she worked at a strip club on Satuday nights.

It was only one day a week but it paid more than her office job, so she was in no position to pass it off. She didn't much like it, but it was getting easier to ignore the butterflies that would flare up in her gut before she went out on stage to do her routine. It had taken a lot of persuasion, but she'd finally managed to talk her boss into letting her take this weekend to herself. She told him that it had been so long since she'd spent time with all her sisters that he felt bad and let her have what she wanted.

The triplets, too, had taken this weekend off, and all the girls had planned to drive to the beach and stay at the Taisho's cottage, which Mr. Taisho had so generously offered to lend them. He said that maybe he and the boys would pop up for a few hours if they could, too.

Kagome settled into the bath, a good book and a cup of warm coffee at hand. Before she got two pages in though, she fell asleep.

**S.T.**

Inuyasha and Miroku sat at the kitchen table, doing their homework. While Daichi flipped burgers just outside the back door on the deck, Shippo and Rin could be heard in the other room, playing a new videogame Shippo had gotten the week before.

Suddenly Miroku looked up from what he was writing and said, "Hey, Inuyasha. Do you think Shippo likes Rin?"

Inuyasha didn't look up from his math problems. _Damn he hated algebra!  
_

"I dunno, probably," he replied absently, not really hearing the question. Miroku rolled his eyes.

He'd forgotten that his brother was bad at math, and it required all his concentration for him to finish before supper.

He decided to let him finish, and he closed his history book, his homework done. Inuyasha glowered at him for a moment, but went back to diligently working out his equations.

The subject of intelligence had been a longstanding sore spot between them. Miroku seemed to have no problem at all with school, while Inuyasha struggled with every subject, except Gym. He was more than adept to earn good grades there, whereas Miroku had opted to take all academic classes this year, leaving the physical classes to his brother. He didn't much prefer to be all that physical…unless it was with a girl of course!

Shippo came into the kitchen and said, "When's supper? Rin and I are hungry."

"I can't stay for dinner, Shippo," Rin said, coming into the room. She was the same height as Shippo, that was all the two had in common. Shippo, red-haired, green-eyed, and muscle-bound, even at his young age, seemed to have a most unlikely friend in Rin, skinny, brown-eyed and haired, with a sweet and slightly shy disposition. Shippo was as outgoing as they come, so they seemed to attract nicely, they were such opposites.

"Why not?" he whined, crossing his arms belligerently. Miroku frowned at him.

"Shippo, if Rin doesn't want to stay, don't force her. Besides, Kagome likely wants her home to do her homework, no?"

Rin smiled. "That's exactly right, Miroku. I better be going. See me off, Shippo?"

Shippo grunted arrogantly, but nodded his consent. Miroku sighed. _That boy was getting more and more like Inuyasha every day!  
_

A rumbling was heard as Sesshoumaru pulled into the driveway, his red Mustang purring before he shut it off and pulled his jacket from the backseat.

Rin said, "Hi, Sesshoumaru!" on her way out and he nodded, replying, "Afternoon, Rin," as he came in.

When she was gone, Shippo plunked himself down at the table and glowered at everyone in the same manner Inuyasha glowered at his homework.

Sesshoumaru, taking off his sneakers, threw his jacket in the hall closet and came into the kitchen to join his brothers.

"Where's Dad?" he asked, and Miroku replied, "He's outside, cooking burgers. He'll be done in a minute."

"Good, I'm starving. Hey, Shrimp!"

Shippo looked up, still angry that Rin had left so early. "What?"

"You forgetting something? Set out the damn plates!"

Grumbling, Shippo got up and did as he was told. Inuyasha, still not done, moved his homework to the desk in his bedroom and came back in a better mood, his homework forgotten for now.

"Hey Miroku! Did you see what Kagome was wearing last Saturday night when she left?"

Miroku, unable to recall, said, "No, why? Was it skankalicious?"

Sesshoumaru looked over his shoulder at this. _What was it they were saying about the gorgeous girl next door? Obviously they didn't know what she did with her Saturday nights!  
_

"No. She was wearing a trench coat. How does a girl as hot as her end up buying a trench coat and actually wearing it in public?"

Sesshoumaru began to chuckle, and suddenly the door banged open, admitting the last brother, sixteen-year-old Kouga.

"Goddamnit!" he muttered, kicking off his high tops and coming to sit as his place at the table, a frown marring his handsome face.

"What's the matter with you?" Shippo asked, but Inuyasha interrupted, "Who cares? I wanna know what's so funny over there, Sesshoumaru!"

Glaring, Kouga folded his arms and ignored his brother. "Asshole," he mumbled.

Ignoring this comment, but flipping his brother the finger, Inuyasha crept over to Sesshoumaru and threatened, "Out with it, Brother, or I'll have to do something to you I really don't want to do."

Sesshoumaru sighed. _Why were his brothers such a pain in the ass?  
_

"Fine, I'll tell you. She was wearing that coat because she had a costume on underneath it."

"A costume?" they all chorused, confused.

"For what? What are we talking about?" Kouga asked.

"Kagome," Shippo whispered, and Kouga said, "Ohh, I see."

Growing up next to the Higurashi's, the Taisho's used to play with the girls next door all the time, but when they started going to high school, things began to slow down a bit. The Higurashi girls, every single one of them a beauty in her own right, often brought their girl friends home with them, and when Kagome was away on Saturday nights, they would have parties, and their Father would look in on the girls every so often to make sure nothing_ too_ shocking was occurring.

Shippo looked out the window. Kikyou and Sango were coming down the sidewalk now, all decked out in their work clothes, scrubs they wore to the nursing home. "Hey, there's Kikyou and Sango," Shippo remarked, and Inuyasha and Miroku flew to the window. The boys had loved Kikyou and Sango since as far back as they could remember, but only Inuyasha had had any success so far; Kikyou had a rep at school for being…well…loose. She wasn't picky about who gave her attention, that was for sure. Sango, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. She was heavily into sports and had recently begun to practice throwing a large boomerang around in their backyard. It was harder to speak with her than it was to get an appointment at the doctor's office where Kagome worked during the week.

Still, the boys were certain all they needed was a little time alone with them.

Sesshoumaru cleared his throat. "Do you want to know what she does or not?"

All his brothers looked at him now, paying rapt attention to his words, though Miroku's left eye kept straying toward the window, inevitably drawing his right eye with it.

"She's a stripper!"

Four jaws dropped open, and their Father came through the door, his hands full of steaming patties on a plate and said, "Who's a stripper?"

"Kagome is!" Kouga said.

Daichi frowned. "Who told you that?"

Sesshoumaru took this opportunity to turn bright red; none of his brothers could resist the urge to snicker at him at his expense.

"A friend told me," Sesshoumaru lied. If his Father knew he'd gone to the strip joint last week…he'd kick him out, for sure. Their Father was pretty laid back, but he was fond of Kagome, and he didn't want to hear that his son had seen more of her than he should have, especially if she was working when it happened. It was against his morals, and he preferred his sons not to indulge in such vulgar entertainment. He didn't think any less of Kagome for doing it; he knew how badly her family needed the money.

"Well, let's talk about something else. Miroku, get the burger stuff out, and Kouga, get some glasses. I see Shippo neglected to get them when he got the plates."

Shippo looked away from his Father's penetrating gaze.

Soon, all six settled around the table to eat their dinner.

**S.T.**

Well, love it or hate it? It's my first crack at an alternate universe, so if it sucks, I have a bunch of other ideas in mind. Review, my pretties, and I'll feed you some more goodness! Hahahahaha!


	2. Chapter 2

Well, here's to round Two! My friend thought this story was a gut buster, so I'm hoping you guys will like it just as much as she does.

Deds:

**Kitsune's Lover** - Kudos for being the first (and only) reviewer so far! Woot! I wasn't sure how this would go over, but you most certainly can have some more, feel free to take it all! Read, my pretty!! Hahahahahahaha!

**Sweet Temptation**

Sango held open the door for Kikyou, who turned and locked it behind her. "We're home!" they called, and Kagome came downstairs, in her bathrobe, her hair still wet.

"Hi!" she said, walking into the kitchen. Their house was situated in such a way that they could see the boys next door at their kitchen table through the window above their own table; it was the same with the bathroom window upstairs.

As Kagome set the table, she watched her neighbours eat their burgers, and her stomach rumbled.

It wasn't the only thing in her body making noise, though.

Sesshoumaru sat next to Daichi, and she could almost swear they were clones, they looked so much alike. Her eyes settled on Sesshoumaru's shirt. It was a button-down dress shirt; _did he have an office job now? She'd have to ask him_.

Sango walked in, followed by her sister. "Where's Ayame?" she asked.

Kagome shook her head. "Dunno," she said, then called, "Rin! Are you home?"

Rin came up from her room in the basement and sat at the table, smiling her hellos to her sisters. She was the quiet one.

Sango took her place at the table while Kikyou opened the fridge and said, "What's for supper? I'm starving!"

Kagome came to stand behind her, looking into the fridge but, seeing nothing she wanted to eat, opened the freezer.

"Hey, there's a pizza in here!"

"I'll turn on the oven!" Sango reached over and flicked it on. Kikyou raised a brow at her, but said nothing. Rin watched her sisters, silent.

"Kikyou, will you run upstairs and get the phone?" Kagome asked. She looked all over the wrapped pizza, but no instructions were to be found, and she couldn't remember at what temperature or for how long to cook the pizza.

"Yeah, gimme a sec," she said, pouring herself a glass of milk. Sango declined her offer of a glass, but Rin accepted.

When she had put the milk away, she went upstairs and came back with the phone, handing it to her sister.

First, Kagome called Ayame's cell; she said she was at karate and would be home in twenty minutes. Then, Kagome called next door.

"Who you calling now?" Sango asked, plucking an apple from the bowl on the table.

"Don't eat that now, we're gonna have pizza," Kagome said, holding the phone between her shoulder and her jaw. _How did Mom and Dad do this?_ she thought, suddenly feeling overwhelmed, not for the first time, since her parents' deaths.

She didn't have time to answer her sister when a male voice answered, "Hello?"

"Hi, Mr. Taisho? It's Kagome, next door. I was wondering if you know how long and at what temperature to cook pizza? We have one here with no instructions on it."

"I see. Pizza, you say? I believe you cook a frozen pizza at four hundred twenty-five degrees for about, say, twelve minutes. I think that should do it."

"Alright, thank you! Talk to you later."

"You enjoy that pizza now!"

"We will. Bye!"

"Goodbye Kagome!"

She hung up. "Turn it up to four twenty-five," she told Sango, and handed the pizza to Kikyou. "Unwrap this and put it on a cookie sheet. I don't want cheese all over the bottom of the oven again."

Rin turned red and looked away.

After their pizza was done, and Ayame came home, the girls all decided to go out back and do a little outdoor activity. Ayame practiced her latest karate move, Sango threw her boomerang, Rin swung on the swing set, reading a book, and Kagome and Kikyou aimed with their bows at targets set up at the back of the yard, ten meters away.

**S.T.**

Sesshoumaru looked over his shoulder out the kitchen window. The Higurashi's were in their backyard, practicing their sports in the setting sunlight. He felt his heart contract. How he yearned to be outside watching them rather than stuck in here doing dishes.

Shippo had his perpetual frown on. Ever since he turned thirteen, he'd had a frown on his face. Sesshoumaru didn't know if it was because he'd just figured out then why their Mother had left, or if there was another reason for his surliness. If there was, he had no idea what it could possibly be, but the only time he seemed to come out of himself and smile was around Rin.

Shippo was an outgoing boy, sure, but he was belligerent and cocky the same way that Inuyasha was. They were definitely cut from the same cloth, those two. He and Miroku were the quiet ones, while Kouga was the sports fiend. If it had to do with sports, he was all over it; if not, he was disinterested and often went to his room.

Over supper Sesshoumaru had asked Kouga why he was so crusty; it turned out that the swim team had cut him. Daichi was disappointed to hear this, but made no comment about it, instead suggesting that maybe this was a good opportunity for Kouga to work on his grades, and not his sports. The suggestion had been met with a shrug.

Right now, as Sesshoumaru and Shippo slaved away at the sink, Inuyasha was doing his homework, a small frown marring his face as he concentrated. Miroku was watching T.V., Kouga was doing his homework at the table across from his brother, and Daichi was upstairs, folding his laundry.

Kouga looked out the window. He spotted Ayame in her yard with her sisters, her red pigtails flying as she performed stance after stance, using her sister Sango as an opponent.

He watched Kagome and Kikyou draw their bows back, and couldn't help but imagine what Kagome looked like in her stripper's costume. He bet that she was totally hot in it.

Leaning across the table, he said to Inuyasha, "Hey, what do you think Kagome's costume looks like?"

Sesshoumaru, listening, kept his head turned so that his brothers wouldn't know he was eavesdropping. Shippo, too, kept an ear in their direction.

Inuyasha put down his pencil and seemed to look within himself for his answer.

"I'll bet it's got tassles," he said at last, and Kouga smirked.

They all looked up as Daichi came through the kitchen, his jeans on and his shirt off.

"Where are you going, Dad?" Shippo asked.

"Out to skim the pool. It's full of bugs, and the filter's clogged. Why don't you boys come out for a swim when you're done your homework? I'll ask the Higurashi girls over, too."

The speed with which everyone who was working in that kitchen returned to their tasks was phenomenal. Sesshoumaru and Shippo finished in record time, while Miroku took pity on Inuyasha and helped him finish his last two problems.

Rushing upstairs to change, they jostled and pushed each other all the way up to their rooms, and Miroku and Inuyasha got stuck in their doorway as they both tried to get through, Kouga knocking them through in his urgency to get back outside.

Trickling downstairs, they all looked out the window first; were the girls coming over? They wouldn't bother if they had refused. Sneaking out the back door, Miroku whispered, "Are they coming over, Dad?"

Daichi laughed. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you boys were excited about having the neighbours over for a swim!" He spoke openly, gesturing to the empty yard next door. The brothers smiled devilishly at each other; the time had come for them to work their wiles on the girls in their bathing suits, while showing off their muscles to perfection. Excited? That was the understatement of the year!

**S.T.**

When Daichi had asked the girls over to swim, Kagome had been happy to comply. She and her sisters were hot and sweaty, and a good swim sounded great; besides, if they were lucky, maybe Daichi's sons would join them?

Kikyou carefully picked out her swimsuit. She had ten pairs, and all were nice, but she wanted to look great. She crept into Kagome's room.

Kagome had taken over the Master bedroom after their parents died; she'd needed to, since she'd accumulated the most clothes. Kikyou didn't care that she had the biggest room - she was just happy to have a room of her own, now. She used to share with Sango, and Ayame had shared with Rin, but Rin had moved to the basement, so Kikyou took Kagome's old room.

The Master bedroom had its own bathroom, and Kikyou could hear Kagome humming inside, changing into one of her suits. Kagome had such nice suits; Kikyou decided she needed a change from her old boring ones and borrowed one of Kagome's.

Opening her sister's lingerie drawer, where she kept her bathing suits next to her underwear, Kikyou rummaged around until she found a red bikini with pink rhinestones on it, with bottoms laced in a fringe that moved when she did.

Closing the drawer, she ran back to her room to put it on. Kagome might be mad, but she'd not take it off. _Kagome would just have to deal with it!  
_

Sango chose her most conservative suit, the one she wore to swim practice. It was a one-piece in black with a pink star on the chest and an Adidas logo.

Ayame pulled open her dresser drawer and opened the wrapped package underneath the rest of her clothes. With the left-over money that she'd earned, she'd bought a bathing suit at the beginning of summer that she just _had_ to have, and plus, it had been on sale! It was too good a deal to pass up. It was white, with a big metal ring that attached the top to the bottom, and just barely covered what it was meant to.

Rin put on a simple yellow bikini in her basement bathroom, while Kagome slipped on her newest bikini, made of green silk with a pattern of white flowers on the left breast. It was connected front and back by a series of three silver rings that linked together, and one big ring on both sides, under her arms. Grabbing a towel off her shower rod, she called, "Kikyou, Sango, Ayame, you guys ready?"

"Yes!" they all answered, and Rin came to stand on the landing halfway up the stairs, in Kagome's direct line of sight. "Oh good, you're ready, too."

Rin smiled, and Kagome smiled back.

Sango and Ayame came out of their rooms, and Kagome said, "Today, Kikyou! My bathing suit's going out of style!"

"Go ahead without me, I need a few more minutes," she called, laying flat on her bed and struggling to get the bottoms up over her hips.

"Fine. Come on, let's go." Sango said, her purple towel over her shoulder. On the way over Kagome said, "Ayame, is that a new suit?"

Blushing, she nodded, and took the towel from her waist and modelled her new suit for her sisters.

"I love that! Where'd you get it?"

"It's nice! A bit revealing, but nice!"

"It's very pretty, Ayame."

Ayame thought she'd melt from the heat of embarrassment. She thought it looked nice, too, and her sisters' positive comments made her even more self-conscious, but happy.

Kagome pushed open the gate to the Taisho's spacious backyard to find Daichi leaning over the filter, shirtless, his head almost stuck up into the contraption, muttering something about pool filters and their filthiness.

Looking up, he smiled at the girls and, glancing quickly at the deck, said, "Jump right in, Ladies! It's a perfect seventy-eight degrees, _and_ bug-free!"

Sango looked at the skimmer hanging from the fence. It was black from the bugs it was covered in.

She felt an urge to gag.

"Oh, I can't wait to get in," Kagome said, dipping her toe in the water.

"Where's Shippo?" Rin asked quietly. Daichi heard her and said, "Oh, don't you worry about my boys. They were ready before you were! They're just chicken to come down here."

Inuyasha heard this and snorted. Sesshoumaru raised a brow, Miroku stuck out his tongue at their Father's back, Kouga blinked, and Shippo frowned.

"We'll see who's chicken," Miroku muttered darkly.

Kagome picked a lounge chair for herself and was about to sit on it when her sisters piled their towels on it. "Hey! I was going to lay there you know!" she said, miffed, but they paid her no mind.

Jumping in together, they made a huge tidal wave that splashed Kikyou as she made her entrance, her towel around her waist.

"Augh! You guys!" she whined, her hair wet.

"Sorry!" they yelled, splashing each other.

"Oh, Kikyou," Kagome said, beckoning her sister close. Kikyou came to sit next to her older sister and let her put her wet hair up in a stylish uptwist, pulling the chopsticks from her own hair to fasten it. Handing her a compact, Kikyou looked at her hair in the tiny mirror and leaned over to hug her sister. Then she stood and took off her towel.

Kagome's eyes widened and she said, "Kikyou, that's mine!"

"I know, but I thought you wouldn't mind if I borrowed it," she said quickly, waving her hands in front of her. "All my suits are old and boring, and yours are so nice!"

Kagome glowered, but didn't demand Kikyou go take it off. Smiling, she lay down on the lounger next to Kagome's, and dug out a pair of aviators to put over her eyes in the glare of the setting sun.

**S.T.**

Up on the deck, a heated argument about who would go down first was taking place in the knot of young men huddling there. Shippo pointed out that they could all go together, but Kouga put a hand to his face and shoved him out of the knot; shrugging, he walked down the steps and, greeting Kikyou and Kagome, did a canon ball in the deep end of the pool, soaking his Father, who still had his head stuck into the filter.

Watching their youngest brother, Miroku said, "If he can do it, I surely can!" and marched down onto the patio.

His brothers watched as he made to go into the water, but turned at the last second to give Kikyou a cursory glance before going right past her to a chair at the outdoor table, and bringing it over next to Kagome!

Inuyasha frowned, _he would not be outdone!  
_

Strutting down the steps, his abs on full display, he sat down on Kikyou's lounge.

"Inuyasha! I love your swimsuit!" she gushed, and he smiled and thanked her before turning his attention to Kagome and asking her, "How are you, Kagome?"

Smiling, she told him she was alright and asked him how he was doing, expecting him to leave her alone after that, unlike Miroku, who just sat there, saying nothing after his greetings.

"I'm great," he said, so badly wanting to be bold enough to add, "now that you're here."

Kikyou sat back on her lounger, arms crossed. Kagome smiled sympathetically at her, but she only frowned, her brows coming together to form one.

Kouga joined them then, sitting next to Kagome's feet on her lounger and asking her if she'd put on any sunscreen yet.

Seeing her sisters, save Rin, who splashed happily with Shippo, staring at her with a look of jealousy, Kagome lied and said, "Yes, I put some on before we came, but thanks for offering."

Sesshoumaru crept onto the scene, shaking his head as he watched his brothers make fools of themselves. They didn't know how to talk to a woman, obviously. He decided to show them how it was done.

Clearing his throat, he said, "Is anyone thirsty?"

Everyone nodded, then looked back at Kagome again. Taking pity on her, Sesshoumaru said, "Kagome, would you like to help me make smoothies?"

"Yes!" she said, and jumped up off her chair, practically running to his side.

His brothers watched as he gently rested his hand on the small of her back, steering her into the house through the sliding glass doors.

Kikyou watched her sister go. She was horribly jealous of the way her sister's thighs failed to jiggle as she ran, of the way her hair still looked good even though she'd ruined her own hairstyle to fix Kikyou's, of the way her swimsuit hugged her every curve as if it had been made for her.

She frowned deeper. Her own thighs were on the heavier side, and her back was still riddled with acne, even though she was on medication to help it go away. Her hair was long but a drab brown, and her skin too pale, not a warm light brown like all her sisters'. She sighed and ignored Inuyasha when he asked her if she wanted him to go get her a drink from the kitchen.

**S.T.**

Sango and Ayame looked at each other. _Why were all the guys crowded around Kagome?  
_

Ayame had to admit, she was just the tiniest bit jealous, especially of the way Kouga looked at her sister, with that lust in his eyes. Sango, she was beginning to like the looks of Miroku's well-toned torso, but she, too, felt just a little jealous of their sister. As for Kagome, it was obvious that she was uncomfortable; she'd jumped at the chance to escape her little club of admirers.

_What was going on over there?_

**S.T.**

Ohhh, what will happen next? Will Kikyou's jealousy be realised? Who will plot to get in to see Kagome do her routine? Only time will tell! Review, babes, I need them to live!!!


	3. Chapter 3

Up to Chapter Three! Woot! And _three_ good reviews! I'm so happy, cuz I thought this one was gonna bust, but it's _so_ funny! I'm having way more than my rightful amount of fun writing this story, I can tell ya that! This story gets funny, I don't care who ya are! lol!

Deds:

**Kitsune's Lover** - As usual, you are first. What can you say, eh? I would _so_ tell you the story out loud in heaven if I croaked, just for you! Prepare for lemony goodness in chapters ahead! Muahahahaha!

**Mikkey Hodge** - Thank you, thank you very much. You're such a sweetheart!

**Kouga's Archi** - No, I don't think you're stupid, stupid! What kind of person do you think I am? I wouldn't say a terrible thing like that, but I'm very happy that you like it so far. Just for that, I will continue to write. Happy trails, and happy reading!

**Sweet Temptation**

Rin floated in a corner of the pool, her back to the wall, Shippo floating before her, a genuine smile on his face. They'd been splashing around, but he had grabbed her, and then, when she failed to struggle and had looked at him in a way that made her feelings for him plain, he'd pulled her to this corner. Looking over his shoulder and seeing everyone was occupied with her sister, Rin leaned forward and pecked him on the mouth.

Wide-eyed, he'd looked at her, smiling, and, touching his own lips as if he couldn't believe what she'd just done, pulled her close by the back of her head and whispered, "Rin," to her lips before he pressed them against his own, keeping one eye open to make sure his Father didn't look their way.

**S.T.**

Kagome gratefully followed Sesshoumaru's pale back into the house. She was admiring the muscles that rippled when he moved when he turned and said, "Can you hand me the stuff from the fridge?"

Caught off guard, she swallowed and responded, "Sure."

Going to the cupboard, he got out eleven glasses and the blender.

"Alright, I'll need milk, ice, the mixed berries in the freezer, and some of that vanilla ice cream, too."

She brought all the things he'd asked for over, and shivered. _That ice cream against her skin was freezing!  
_

He smiled at her shudders; _cold, was she?  
_

Removing his towel, he tossed it to her, and she wrapped herself in it, smiling gratefully.

"Thanks."

While he wasn't looking, she held the towel to her nose. It smelled like Tide, but it smelt like him, too…sort of musky. She wondered if it was his aftershave.

While she was busy smelling his towel, Sesshoumaru remarked, "You must forgive my brothers their foolishness."

She looked up. "Foolishness?"

"Yes. They were being a bit…obvious…out there, weren't they?"

"Oh, that. Yeah, a bit. What's up with that?"

He turned to look at her briefly as he held the lid down on the blender and pressed Puree.

"It's really my fault," he admitted, giving her his full attention.

"I went to see a show last Saturday night. I must say, Kagome, that your routine is the best out of all the girls at that club. I thought you were very…graceful."

She blushed deeply. "So, you know about my other job, huh?"

He smiled. "Do not be ashamed. I was most impressed. You were very good."

She returned his smile.

"I regret to inform you though that I made an error today. Inuyasha was remarking about your leaving in a trench coat last weekend, and I let it slip about where you were going. I'm sorry."

She kept smiling. _He was so sweet! Apologising like that!  
_

"That's alright. It definitely explains all the attention," she said, looking out the window to see them all watching her and Sesshoumaru. Suddenly, a wicked idea crossed her mind.

Someone had turned on the radio outside, so no matter how close to the window they strained, no one could here what Kagome was saying to Sesshoumaru, and finally Kouga said, "Enough of this shit, I wanna know what's going on!"

His brothers following, he made it up to the glass doors when he saw something that shocked him enough to make his mouth fall open.

When Kagome had seen Kouga stand up, she'd said to Sesshoumaru, "I have an idea. Play along!" and she'd slowly put her hand behind his head, and brought her lips up to meet his own.

When she saw his brothers gawking outside the doors, she released him and winked. He smiled too, but made his face into one of shock when his brothers could see it. Picking up the blender and pouring out the smoothie into the glasses, she took half of them on a tray and slid back the door, saying, "Oh, boys! I didn't see you there! Here's your smoothies!"

Dumbly they took the glasses she offered, and watched her as she made her way back down the steps, offering her last glass to her sister, Kikyou.

They immediately turned on Sesshoumaru.

"Well?"

"How was she?"

"Is she a hot kisser?"

He only smiled and walked past them, to sit on the end of Kagome's lounger in Kouga's place.

Seeing that they had lost their opportunity with Kagome to Sesshoumaru, they slowly wandered back, Inuyasha to sit with Kikyou again, Miroku to wander over to Ayame, who sat drying her hair on the edge of the pool.

Rin and Shippo, having abandoned their kissing game for now, took turns going down the slide.

Sango, straddling the diving board, watched with no interest as Daichi finally pried the filter out of its hole and cried, "Eureka!"

**S.T.**

The next day at school, Kikyou slammed her locker shut. Ayame and Sango exchanged a look; their sister was angry, and they had a good idea why.

Kikyou sunk down to the floor, her back to her locker. She could feel the tears coming; good thing it was lunchtime.

Ayame, sensing an emotional breakdown, grabbed Kikyou's arm and said, "Come on. You need to let this all out."

Dragging her to the bathroom, they gathered around her in a corner and took turns hugging her as she cried out her sorrows.

Sniffling, she asked, "Why does everyone have to like her, huh? What's wrong with the rest of us that they can't notice us? I mean, Ayame, you looked great in your suit, and Sango, you always look great. It's me that's the cow! I'm so fat, and I hate it!"

Sango looked at Ayame. Their sister was hurting, and was saying things that weren't true.

"Kikyou, you're not fat," Sango said gently, rubbing Kikyou's back, to rid her of her hiccups.

"Oh no? Then why is her bathing suit too tight on me?"

"Because it's hers? If you had worn your own, you would have looked great, hun."

"But I want to look good in _her_ suit! I want to look like _her_! _I want to be able to pull off a stint at a strip club too! _"

She began to howl, and her sisters pulled her down to sit on the floor, Sango grabbing a roll of toilet paper from the nearest stall so Kikyou could wipe her nose.

"But Kagome hates it there, remember? She said it was so demeaning, but the money was good. That's the only reason she does it, Kikyou; so we have money to buy clothes and junk."

Kikyou blew her nose, calming down a little. "I know. But why does she get to be the pretty one?"

Sango smiled, like their Mother used to when they were sad about something as little girls.

"Kikyou, you forget that she went through a lot to get where she is now. She used to have to wear headgear, for God's sake! At least your teeth are straight and you don't have to."

"And she had acne, too, I remember," Ayame added, nodding. "Had it for years, until she started the pill."

Kikyou sniffled, and smiled a little. _Her sisters were the best!  
_

"Thanks, you guys," she said, hugging them both, one arm each.

"Maybe you should tell Kagome about this," Sango said, looking her sisters in the eye.

"Why?"

"Well, maybe she can reassure Kikyou that she won't be like this forever; that her time will come, too. Then if she hears it from Kagome, she'll be alright."

"I dunno," Ayame hesitated, and Kikyou blinked back more tears. "What if Kags isn't home, or too tired?"

"That doesn't matter! When we tell her about Kikyou's concerns, she'll listen. She always does."

The sisters nodded, and Kikyou wiped her eyes again. Stuffing the roll of toilet paper in her bag, she left the bathroom with her sisters, heading down to the cafeteria where she ordered nothing to eat, but bought a bottle of water from the pop machine. _No time like the present, right?_

**S.T.**

Inuyasha sat down in math class, and opened his binder. He looked at his homework from last night; he still didn't understand what he was doing.

As he tried to check his work before class started, Kikyou took her seat next to his. Opening her own book, she said nonchalantly, "I had fun last night, Inuyasha."

He looked up when she said his name, and said, "That's good, Kikyou. Me too." but went straight back to work, as if she hadn't spoken. Kikyou's heart began to break. She'd enjoyed considerable attention from boys, up until it got out that her older sister was a stripper. Now, the only attention she got was boys asking if her sister would be home after school, and did she do private parties?

She was so sick of hearing about it that by the time school ended for the weekend she was ready to strangle her sister, something she'd never thought she'd want to do.

Walking home alone, for Sango had swim practice and Ayame her karate lesson, she kept her gaze to the ground as she slowly made her way home. She saw Inuyasha and Miroku, Kouga in the backseat, speed by, but they never stopped; they didn't even honk, or offer her a ride. Before, Inuyasha had followed her like a puppy; now, he didn't even remember that she existed.

_Sometimes_, she thought, _life is a real bitch_.

**S.T.**

Kagome came home at six, exhausted. Her sisters all sat around the table when she came in, and they all had a look of business to their faces. She felt an argument coming on.

"Alright, you guys," she said, dropped her jacket and purse on a chair by the kitchen door, "what's up? I doubt you're waiting for me to give me hugs."

Kikyou drew her gaze to the tabletop, and Ayame put a hand to her shoulder. Sango just kept staring, and Rin folded her hands on the table, saying not a word.

Kagome sighed. "This is about last night, isn't it?"

Sango jumped in here. "Yeah, as a matter of fact it is. You had quite the entourage, and none of us appreciated it, Kagome."

She trudged to the fridge and took out the milk. _She should have seen this coming_.

"Okay, what do you want me to say? I was plenty uncomfortable, I'll tell you that much. It was pretty awkward to have them all crowded in like they were, but I didn't _do_ anything! I do know why they did it, though, Sesshoumaru told me."

"Yeah, they know about your weekend job, right?" Kikyou said, her eyes getting wet.

Kagome sighed again. "Yeah, they know."

Kikyou started to cry in earnest now, and Kagome came over to sit next to her, gently pushing Sango over to make room for herself.

"This is all about Inuyasha, isn't it?" she asked her, touching her shoulder.

"So what if it is?" she cried, ripping tissues from the box Ayame held out to her. "You took up all his attention, and none of us got any. How fair is that, Kagome? Before we know it, you'll have five boyfriends and we'll have none, 'cuz they sure seem to think you're the cat's meow!"

Rin was silent throughout Kikyou's whole outburst.

"Are you worried I'm going to steal the guy you like away from you?" Kagome asked, hurt.

"What if I am?"

"Oh, Kikyou, I'd _never _do that to you! You're my sister! You're all my sisters! It's my job now to put you all through school and give you everything that Mom and Dad would have given you. I have no time for men, and even if I did, I like Sesshoumaru! The others are all too young for me!"

Her sisters laughed, and Kikyou smiled. Kagome hugged her tight.

"I love you guys. I don't know how you could possibly think I was out to seduce the Taisho boys! You have to remember, they _are_ boys, and they know that I'm a stripper. Of course they're going to be riled up, but that'll go away when the novelty wears off. They've probably already forgotten about it by now."

As she spoke, Inuyasha, Miroku, and Kouga sat underneath their window, listening to their conversation, and plotting ways to get into that strip club next Saturday night.

**S.T.**

Daichi strode into the bathroom, and ran the hot water. Opening the vanity, he pulled out his razor and a can of shaving cream.

A few minutes later Sesshoumaru joined him, the only son old enough to have anything to shave.

They stood next to each other in front of the mirror, chatting about work, when Sesshoumaru happened to look out the window.

There, across the driveway, in the Higurashi's bathroom, stood Kagome, watching them.

He waved, and she smiled, waving back. Daichi noticed none of this as he concentrated on the spot under his nose, on his upper lip.

"So, Sesshoumaru, I get the feeling you have quite the crush on Kagome, no?"

Sesshoumaru looked back at his Father, who winked at him in the mirror.

"Uhh…" was all he could say before Daichi interrupted him, saying, "It's alright, you don't have to tell me. I can tell just by looking at you, and how you look at her. I just hope this infatuation hasn't sprung up because of her job?"

He frowned. "If you must know, Father, I've always had a soft spot for her. I just…well, I just get really nervous around her now, and-"

His Father laughed, wiping his face with his towel. "I know son. I went through the same thing with your Mother."

Tossing his son the towel, he said, "You might want to shave the rest of that off before I'm forced to take a picture and show it at your wedding."

"Very funny, Dad," Sesshoumaru said sarcastically, and looked back toward Kagome, but she was gone.

He finished shaving in silence, his thoughts loud in his head.

**S.T.**

Well, well, well...Sesshoumaru and Kagome? Only time will tell! But I for one predict some steamy love scenes in the not too distant future! Muahahaha! Review, and I'll update. Maybe you'll get to satisfy your perverted little minds...or maybe not. It all depends on you guys! Make me proud to be an Inuyasha Fanfiction Author!!!


	4. Chapter 4

I woke up this morning and was so excited to see one email in my box. Turns out to be something to do with stocks. **Not funny!**

Deds:

**cookiemonsterks** - I would have put you in chapter three, but your review came in _two minutes_ after I posted it! Can you belive that? I'm sorry! But yes, there is a fight coming up, so we're not at peace for long! heeheeheehee.

**Kitsune's Lover** - ...Yes, you may have more. I think you have to be related by blood for incest to happen...I'm pretty sure. For my purposes you do! wink!

**yume-hime** - Think so? I laugh all the way through! Wait no more, my friend!

**anime-lover-forever2007** - Okay, you need to settle down!! I'm freaked out, but I hate to withhold anything from good reviewers. So, even though you are one impatient Patty, I will give you what you want - what we _all _want! Hahahaha!

**Sweet Temptation**

Saturday morning was a flurry of activity for the Higurashi family. Each girl had at least two bags of stuff for one weekend at the cottage, and Kagome tried vainly to stuff it all in the car, but was failing miserably.

"Okay, Kikyou, one of your bags has got to go! I can't fit all five in here!"

"Fine, give me the blue one," she grumbled, and took out what she really needed and stuffed it into her shoulder bag, which was bulging by now.

Ayame laughed at her sister. "Kikyou, we're going to be gone two days, not two weeks."

Kikyou stuck out her tongue. "I don't care! I refuse to go anywhere without my most necessary possessions!"

"By the looks of it, everything you _own_ is your most necessary possession!" Sango teased, and ducked as her sister tried to punch her shoulder.

"That's enough, you three! Rin, are you ready?"

"Yes, Kagome." She had one bag.

"Oh, thank God you know the meaning of the words, 'pack light'," she huffed, jamming Rin's bag into a tiny space in the corner of the trunk.

Just then, Sesshoumaru came outside, and, hands in his pockets, strolled up to Kagome. "Hey, Kagome."

She turned to smile at him. "Hi, Sesshoumaru. You going to come up with us?"

He smiled back. "Yeah, I thought I might. You need a hand?"

"Yeah. Can you get this last bag strapped to the roof? Kikyou refuses to leave her life behind."

She smiled fondly at her younger sister, who only raised a brow, then turned away, to answer a text message on her phone.

"Sure, I'll get some bungee cord." He turned and ran back into his house. Kagome watched, a warm feeling spreading in her stomach. _He was so hot_…

"Kagome?" Kikyou was tugging her sleeve.

"What?"

"Can Kagura come with us?" Kagura was Kikyou's best friend, and lived three doors down the street, past the Taisho's. She'd had it bad for Sesshoumaru as long as Kagome could remember, even though she was four years younger. Vivacious and outgoing, she thought maybe having Kagura around would keep Kikyou's spirit up.

"Sure, if you don't mind sharing a seatbelt," she said, recounting heads. "Yup, you'll have to share."

"Thanks, Kags!"

"Don't thank me yet," she muttered under her breath. _If Kagura tried anything at all on Sesshoumaru_…she didn't know what she'd do, but she'd be really mad, that much was for certain.

Sesshoumaru came back, several yards of cord in hand. After he had strapped Kikyou's bag, and a huffing Kagura's bag, to the roof of the car, he took Kagome aside and said, "Are you taking Kagura in your car? You have enough seatbelts for that?"

Kagome knew she didn't but was willing to risk it as long as Sesshoumaru didn't wind up alone with Kagura in his car.

"It's fine," she said, trying to block his view of the car's interior.

"You do not. Look, I'll get ready, and follow you guys up. Some one can come with me."

Inuyasha, Kouga, Miroku, and Shippo all came rushing out of the house then, saying, "I'll go! I'll go! Pick me!"

Kagome had to laugh at the expression on Sesshoumaru's face; his brothers sure knew how to rain on his parade!

Daichi followed them out and said, "You boys get the hell back in the house and quit bugging the girls! I told you we'd go up later this afternoon!"

Sesshoumaru smiled evilly at his brothers. _Take that, you monsters_…

Kagome said, "Oh, that's alright, Mr. Taisho, they weren't bugging _us_." Her sisters all giggled at her observation. Daichi smiled at her.

"I know, but we had this discussion already. If they want to go so bad, they should be packed and ready to take their own car, not harassing you while you're trying to get organised." He looked pointedly at his four youngest sons, who shuffled their feet, but didn't stop grinning.

Sango rolled her eyes and said, "Come on girls, let's blow this pop sickle stand! We're wasting precious beach time!"

Getting into the car, Kagura caught Sesshoumaru's eye in passing and licked her lips at him. He gave away nothing in his expression, but inwardly, he was kinda freaked out. Kagura was pretty, but she was way too young for him!

Kagome smiled at him as he closed her door for her. "Safe drive," he said, and she said, "Thanks. See you up there."

With a squeal of tires, the girls were off, the Taisho boys staring after them.

**S.T.**

As soon as the Higurashi girls and Kagura had left, Inuyasha ran into the house, threw some clothes in a bag, and threw that into the hatchback, climbing behind the wheel and announcing, "I'm ready! Hurry up, you guys!"

Shippo, deciding he would rather go with his Father, sat down to watch T.V. until Daichi was ready to go. Miroku and Kouga speed-packed, throwing stuff so haphazardly into their bags that Miroku's zipper got stuck on a sweater halfway across and Kouga's zipper broke open, so he duct-taped it shut.

Sesshoumaru leaned on the hood of the black hatchback as he spoke to Inuyasha, waiting for his brothers to come out.

"Inuyasha, I'll be right behind you. No hitting on Kagome tonight, you understand me?"

Inuyasha frowned; _what right did Sesshoumaru have to tell who he could and could not hit on?_ Suddenly, a golden thought occurred to his dense little mind: _was Sesshoumaru in love with Kagome?  
_

He smiled evilly at his older brother. "What do you mean, Sesshoumaru? Are you trying to tell me your putting in a dib on her?"

Sesshoumaru pulled back a lip in a snarl. "I am. You got that?"

Inuyasha blinked. His brother could be blunt sometimes, but never really mean, or intimidating. But his actions just now sent a tingle of fear up his spine so cold he decided to agree, if only to soothe Sesshoumaru's ruffled feathers.

"Sure, big bro, no problem," he said, crossing the fingers of the hand his brother couldn't see.

Laying a fist on the horn, he yelled, "Hurry up!"

Sesshoumaru turned away, and started his Mustang. Rolling down the windows, he let it idle and get to blowing cool air as he ran into the house to pack a few things. Amazingly, he was out before Miroku and Kouga, who were busily searching for the duct tape. Daichi had taken a seat next to Shippo on the couch, and they were watching Wheel of Fortune and eating potato chips.

Jumping into the mustang, Sesshoumaru leaned over the passenger seat and yelled, "My bad, looks like you'll be following me!" and backed out onto the street, his engine revving as he stepped on the gas, and sped at a breakneck speed around the corner.

Inuyasha scowled, and laid on the horn again. _Show-off_…

**S.T.**

Forty-five minutes and much screaming, singing, and laughing later, the girls pulled into the driveway of the Taisho's spacious split-level cottage, the Sea of Japan visible over the sand dunes surrounding the property.

"Wow," Kagome said when she got out of the car, shielding her eyes from the sun.

"How does a single Dad like Mr. Taisho afford a cottage this nice?"

"I think someone left it to him, Kikyou."

"Oh."

Kagome opened the trunk and began throwing bags at their respective owners; most of them wound up in a pile in the sand.

Picking up their stuff, they trooped inside, unlocking the door and taking off their shoes on the porch outside. Stepping in, they were awestruck by the beauty of the place, even though it hadn't been used in over five years, not since Mrs. Taisho left.

They looked at each other and smiled; dropping their bags, they ran all over, exploring the place from top to bottom. There was a loft on the upper floor, and a breakfast nook in the kitchen. An all-around fireplace stood in the middle of the living room, its chimney climbing all the way up to the vaulted ceiling.

Pictures of the family hung all over, and Kagome found one of the boys when they were small, their Mother holding them all in her lap. _She'd been a beautiful woman_, Kagome thought. _I wonder what would cause her to leave such a wonderful family behind?  
_

A revving could be heard outside, and Kikyou, closest to a window, squealed, "Sesshoumaru's here! Guess he couldn't wait to see us again, eh Kagome?" she winked.

Kagome chuckled. "Kikyou, do you even know the meaning of the word 'subtle'?"

Kikyou smiled and stuck out her tongue as Sesshoumaru ran through the door, huffing.

All the girls turned out to meet him, and Kagura, hooding her eyes, strolled past him, saying, "Nice to see you again so soon, Sesshoumaru."

He watched her walk away, thinking that there wasn't a shy bone in her body, when Kagome smiled and made him forget all about Kagura. Kagura scowled at his reaction to her, but resolved to keep trying. _A man's resistance could only last so long_.

He walked straight to Kagome, and seemed to forget they were being watched as he took her hand in his.

"Want me to unstrap your stuff from the car?"

Kagome was speechless, but she soon found her tongue in time to say, "Sure," without looking like a retard.

He smiled and promised, "I'll be right back."

As soon as he left, Kagome clapped her hands and said, "Okay ladies, haul buns and get your stuff to your rooms. I want you all settled in in half an hour or less."

Kikyou groaned; _that would be impossible!_ But everyone else nodded, climbing the stairs.

Kagura gave Kagome a look on the way past - a look Kagome didn't care for at all, but her own expression did not change. _What's up with her?_ she thought, never breaking eye contact with the younger girl. She had a feeling she'd just made an enemy of her little sister's best friend.

**S.T.**

Inuyasha passed another car; two old people who were putsing along at seventy. He was starting to get frustrated.

"Move it, Grandpa!" he yelled, leaving them in his dust.

"Inuyasha, calm down," Miroku soothed, though he was just as anxious as his twin.

Kouga laughed from the backseat. "Inuyasha's just in a hurry to get into Kagome's pants before Sesshoumaru does!"

Inuyasha turned his head for a split second to snarl, "And you're not?" in the mirror.

Kouga remained silent.

"That's what I thought you said." Inuyasha put his attention back to the road. Miroku changed the radio station, and Kouga suddenly asked over the din, "Hey Inuyasha, I thought you liked Kikyou?"

Miroku looked at his twin from the corner of his eye. _What would Inuyasha say?  
_

Gripping the wheel as tightly as he could, he responded through clenched teeth, "I do like her. Just fine."

"He just can't stand competition. He sees Sesshoumaru getting somewhere with Kagome, the hot stripper, and suddenly he decides, 'Oh, she's hot, I want her for myself.' I know how you feel, I suffer from the same affliction." Miroku explained.

"Will you two shut up?" Inuyasha screamed, pulling his own hair. He looked at the clock on the dash. Twenty more minutes.

_God help him get them there without killing them_.

**S.T.**

Ohhh, I'm so excited to post what's gonna happen next, but I need reviews before I do, or the story train runs out of coal, know what I'm saying? Souls, souls! I need...I mean, Reviews! I need Reviews!!!!REVIEW FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!! Heeheeheehee.


	5. Chapter 5

Ok, I woke up to no email this morning, and now I'm crusty. Arg!!!! Whose head do i gotta put a gun to to get a lot of reviews?!?!?!?!

Deds:

**Kitsune's Lover** - Guess what? Your first! Lol! Thanks for the souls they were tasty. Policefood! Yes, Kagura is quite the boil on the ass of Kagome's society, and trust me, she gets worse! I just haven't written that far yet, heehee!

**anime-lover-forever2007** - Ummmm...I love you too...thanks...keep reading!!

**cookiemonsterks** - Eww, wine's gross, unless its Zinfandel. You crazy! You and your hobbies/ideas! I gotta love ya, though, you baby dinosaur, you!

**S. T. Nickolian** - You want me to humiliate Inuyasha? Even more than he already humiliates himself? Is it possible? "It was short! It was obvious! It was pointless! It was... short. We loved it!"

**Sweet Temptation**

When Sesshoumaru brought the bags in, Kagome sat on the couch by herself. She got up to help him, and when her hand touched his, she looked up into his smiling face, and something happened to her heart.

It stopped.

She felt it wham once again, this time going at breakneck speed. _What was it about him that made her heart pound in her ears like this?_ Sesshoumaru felt her warm hand in his own and enjoyed a brief rise in the temperature of his blood as it left his heart, warming his entire body, even though it was over thirty degrees outside, and even hotter and stuffier in here.

"Let me help you with that," she whispered, and he leaned toward her, their lips meeting in a hot, sensuous kiss that both had imagined would happen. All the way up here in his Mustang Sesshoumaru had been thinking about doing this to her, plus some other things…but his mind was blank now as the smell of her perfumed skin filled his nostrils, making him light-headed.

Kagome felt his hand rest in her shoulder, but that wasn't good enough. She wanted him to feel her heart, how fast it beat for him, and she placed her hand over his own, bringing it to rest stop her left breast. He squeezed gently and she smiled into his lips, making him smile back.

Kikyou watched the scene below from the hall with a smile. As long as her sister was absorbed in Sesshoumaru, she had no fear about her stealing Inuyasha away. Kagura came to see what was taking her, and she put a finger to her lips and gestured for her friend to be silent. Pointing down the stairs, Kikyou failed to see the cloud of rage that passed over Kagura's face; _that was supposed to be **her** in his arms, not Kikyou's sister!  
_

Kagome pulled away to breath, and was about to resume her perusal of Sesshoumaru's mouth when a loud honk and the crunch of gravel was heard from tires outside.

Turning, they looked through the front window to see Inuyasha, Miroku, and Kouga spill out of the hatchback, into a ball of fists and feet.

"Damn those idiots," Sesshoumaru said, coming back to Kagome to peck her on the lips before going to break up the fight. She smiled and gave him a shove.

"Spare the rod, spoil the children!" she said, laughing. He smiled.

"I just might!"

**S.T.**

"Ow! Let go my ear!" Kouga screamed, as Miroku tried to pull his hair. His own short rat-tail was tightly held in Inuyasha's grip, and Kouga had a fist buried in his older brother's gut, but could not extract it because Miroku was laying on it.

"Enough, girls! Break it up!" Sesshoumaru yelled, toeing Inuyasha away from Kouga and pulling Kouga up by his black ponytail.

"Ow, alright! Let me go!" Kouga yelled, shaking the dirt off his t-shirt.

"Damn, Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha rubbed his ribs where Sesshoumaru had poked him. "Clip your toenails! They're lethal!"

"Get your shit in the house, and put it away. I don't want to hear another word out you."

Turning, he ran back into the house. His brothers watched him, puzzled. Usually Sesshoumaru stayed and lectured them on their bad behaviour, but he'd just run away. _What was he up to?  
_

Inuyasha looked at Miroku, and Kouga to Inuyasha, all smiling.

"Are you two thinking what I'm thinking?" Miroku asked slyly, and both his brothers nodded.

"What's his hurry to get back inside??"

**S.T.**

Closing the door behind him, Sesshoumaru smiled wickedly at a waiting Kagome and rushed back to her, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. She brought her hands to his face, holding it there while she kissed him fervently. He backed her into the bathroom, where he kicked the door shut behind them and locked it.

Slamming her into the wall in his eagerness, Sesshoumaru began to undress Kagome; first her shirt, then her denim shorts. She herself did not let him go dressed. His shirt was off so fast, all the buttons had popped off in her haste. His pants were unbuckled, and he grew hotter as he felt her hands down there, unzipping the zipper and popping the button on his jeans.

He kicked them off as soon as she let him, his thumbs hooked on her thong straps, pulling it down just far enough for his purposes.

Wrapping her arms around his neck she gasped as someone knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" he called, sounding completely normal.

"Kikyou. Hurry up, Sesshoumaru, I gotta go!"

"Go outside."

"Eww! That's primitive, Sesshoumaru!" She banged once on the door but they heard her stomp away, back up the stairs to harass Sango out of the upstairs bathroom.

"That was close," Kagome breathed, and he replied, "not as close as I'm gonna be."

She giggled, and fisted her hand in his hair as he fumbled around between them. Suddenly, she felt him between her thighs and when he slid into her, she moaned into his mouth as he kissed her, before moving his lips down her neck to her collarbone, his destination obvious. She was wearing a red bikini top, and he reached around behind her to untie it as she brought her other hand to his head, digging her fingernails into his scalp as he pumped her against the wall, making a tiny picture frame fall off and shatter on the floor.

When he'd exposed her breast, she opened her eyes and looked down at him; he was looking back at her, watching her expression as his tongue snaked out to touch her sensitive skin, puckered in the cool air of the bathroom.

Throwing her head back, he drew her into his mouth, and sucked hard, at the same time holding her still against the wall, so they wouldn't make any banging noises.

As he reached his peak, so did she, and when she tried to scream he covered her mouth with his own, holding her head still as he slowly eased off, kissing her gently all over her face.

Pulling out of her, he bent over and picked up her clothes, then, asking her to lift her foot, he dressed her, slowly and with much kissing in between. When she was finally dressed, she did the same for him, and he pulled open the bathroom window, helping her out.

"You're an animal," she complimented him, kissing his nose. He grinned.

"Stick around; I'm not done with you yet," he promised, winking at her. She giggled, and ran around back, sliding open the patio door as he nonchalantly came out of the bathroom. Their efforts at innocence were wasted; everyone had gone down to the beach ten minutes ago.

He looked at her, and she screamed; he chased her up the stairs to the master bedroom, and once again kicked the door shut behind them.

**S.T.**

Inuyasha sat in the sand, idly drawing circles. _Sesshoumaru had run back into the house to go to the bathroom? _He frowned; he thought sure his brother was up to something much more clandestine than taking a shit. He looked back at the cottage, but saw no sign of his brother or Kagome.

Kikyou lay next to her sisters on her towel, the closest to Inuyasha. She moved her aviators down her nose to see him better, and called, "Inuyasha?"

He looked up. "Yeah?"

"Would you come here for a minute?" She smiled her most flirtatious smile at him, and when he picked himself up to come over she nudged Kagura, who gave her the thumbs up sign.

Plunking his butt next to her in the sand, she made room for him on her towel, and he scooched over.

She handed him the tanning oil. "Would you mind rubbing some of this onto my back?"

He felt butterflies awaken in his stomach and come to life, fluttering non-stop. He gulped, and she smiled, presenting her back to him.

Spritzing the oil onto her skin, then rubbing it in, caused the basest of sensations within him; his blood boiled, and his loins contracted involuntarily in anticipation of what he _could _get. His nervousness faded away and his cockiness came out to play as he spent much more time than necessary rubbing oil into Kikyou's back.

When she was more than warm herself, she turned and, taking the bottle from him, turned him so that she could oil his back, as well. He couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't noticed before how voluptuous she looked in her black bikini; how her hair shone in the sun, her lacquered chopsticks glinting at him from the uptwist in her hair like a diamond in the distance; how good she smelled.

Kikyou began to smile as the longer she oiled his back, the more relaxed he became, until he was putty in her hands. She decided to give him another liberty with her body.

"Will you do the backs of my legs, please?"

He nodded dumbly, almost asleep from all her attention. He woke up in a hurry once she presented him her creamy thighs to work with though!

Ayame watched as her sister took advantage of Inuyasha's attraction for her; he'd been sidetracked by Kagome, but he seemed to be coming around to Kikyou again. She looked wistfully in Kouga's direction.

He threw the Frisbee so gracefully that he made it look effortless. Frisbee was one game Ayame had never really tried to get good at. She didn't come to the beach that often, and they didn't have one at home.

Deciding to be bold, she got up and marched over to the brothers.

"Can I play?"

Kouga looked at her skeptically, but Miroku blurted, "Of course you can! Throw her the Frisbee, Kouga!"

Grunting, he mumbled, "Fine," and she backed a good distance away. His first throw nearly took her head off, and the laugh he gave at the sight of her ducking made her angry. _So, he wanted to play that way, did he?  
_

Ignoring Miroku's flailing arms to throw it his way, she fired it back at Kouga, and laughed out loud with satisfaction as the disc hit him right in the neck, below his ear.

"Ow! What the hell? You're supposed to throw to him!" Kouga yelled, pointing at Miroku, who was rolling in the sand, laughing and holding his gut.

Ayame grinned at him evilly and retorted, "It slipped."

He growled, but let the matter drop.

Nicely throwing it back to her, she then passed it on to Miroku, and the game progressed like this until Miroku suggested they play in the water, with Ayame on Kouga's shoulders and Sango on his.

"Hey, Sango!" he screamed, and she looked up from where she lay on her purple towel, her sunglasses perched high on her nose.

"What do you want?"

"Come play Water Frisbee with us!" Ayame called, and Sango slowly dragged herself up. _Eww_, she thought, _Miroku's going to be touching my thighs_. _Gross_.

As much as she willed herself to be disgusted by this thought, her perverted side kept creeping into her mind and convincing her that the thought wasn't so bad; was in fact, kind of exciting, kind of sexy… kind of hot. _Like Miroku is_, she thought, then brought a hand up to smack that thought right out of her head. _Did I really just think that!?  
_

"What're you hitting yourself for?" Miroku asked, smiling and rubbing his hands together as she approached.

"A bug landed on me," she lied, a frown furrowing her brow. _He better not try anything_, she thought, and for good measure, crossed her arms over her chest and warned him, "You put your hands where they're not supposed to go, Miroku, and you'll regret it!"

He grinned at her. "You have my word on that!" Behind his back, the fingers on his right hand were crossed.

**S.T.**

Kagome sat at the counter, feeding chunks of cut up fruit to Sesshoumaru. Popping a piece of cantaloupe into her mouth, he smiled as she grabbed his wrist, so he couldn't pull his hand away yet, and sucked on his fingers, swallowing the cantaloupe whole.

The patio door slid open then, and Rin came in, looking a little redder than before. Kagome waved her over and said, "Rin, honey, do you want to ask everyone if they want to go into town for ice cream?"

The little town of Senzuru was two kilometres up the beach, to the North, and was a popular tourist town every summer, with its shores crowded everyday until sunset or later.

"Sure, I'll ask them." She turned to Sesshoumaru. "Do you know when Shippo's coming?"

He smiled and shook his head. "I can call and ask for you, though."

She smiled back. "Thanks." Heading back outside, Kagome called, "Wait, Rin! You're burning, come let me put some more sunscreen on your back."

Padding back to her sister, she pulled Sesshoumaru's vacated stool up next to her sister's and let her rub sunscreen onto her skin. She listened to Sesshoumaru on the phone, and looked at the platter of fruit on the counter. A thought was buzzing in the back of her mind, something that should have been obvious, but it would not come to her. It was trying to occur to her that something had just happened between Sesshoumaru and her sister, but she was still young enough that that thought was having a lot of difficulty forming itself into an idea she could easily grasp and understand.

Sesshoumaru came back, and pulled up another stool, picking up a grape and throwing it in the air, gracefully catching it in his mouth. Kagome smiled at him from behind her sister's skinny back.

"Dad says they'll be a while yet. Shippo's asleep on the couch."

"Oh. Thank you." Rin hopped off her chair and headed to the door, smiling her thanks to Kagome and sliding the door shut behind her.

Kagome watched her leave. She was getting so tall…already she was eye-level with the top of Rin's head. She was almost taller than her triplet sisters, who were two inches shorter than Kagome. She sighed. _When had she grown up so fast?  
_

"What are you thinking?" he asked, running his fingertips over her closest breast. She giggled. "I'm thinking about what I'd like you to do to me."

He smirked, and leaned over to kiss her nose. She smiled, taking his hand.

"Come on, let's go get some ice cream!"

**S.T.**

Alright, how was that for lemony goodness? I promised a lemon, and I'll bet you guys thought I was a nutcase, cuz it was so long in coming...well, you know what they say...Review, and the lemons shalt be yours!


	6. Chapter 6

Ohhhh, I'm so sorry I didn't update yesterday! I've been helping my friend move into her new apartment and this is the first opportunity I've had in the last two days to post another chapter. I tried to yesterday, but my comp was being a bitch, so I had to shut it down, arg! And I'm so happy, I just bought Hinder, and I love the song, 'Lips of an Angel' oh, so good! And I've never responded to this many reviews for one chapter! Yay! (dances like a crazy girl around the room, hits a wall or two, then sits down again)

Deds:

**Kitsune's Lover** - Just you wait, Kagura's got something up her sleeve and its nothing good! She is _soooo_ evil! And she does corner him (sorta)!

**anime-lover-forever2007** - Your idea is not bad, and I had another idea that was very similar. You just may see me use it yet, you'll have to read and see!

**S. T. Nickolian** - Well, Miroku hasn't lost consciousness yet - though if he keeps on Sango like he has been, he'll get there quick!

**Mikkey Hodge** - Except this time, eh? I'm sorry, I was really busy cleaning, and moving, and shopping, sigh, so much to do and so little time to do it in!

**Tatara's girl** - Sorry to keep you waiting, hope you don't need resusitation!

**cookiemonsterks** - Is that look good or bad? I can't tell!!!!

**Matiea** - Don't worry, I'm not anywhere near done yet! Some like it hot, and I think one of those some is you, lol, I'll try to keep it that way!

**Sweet Temptation**

Kagome and Sesshoumaru wound their way down the path to the beach behind the cottage. All of their siblings save Rin were in the water, playing Frisbee, and Rin was trying to get their attention, without any luck.

Taking pity on her, Sesshoumaru stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly, scaring Miroku and causing him to drop Sango into the water for the fifth time.

Sputtering, she yelled, "Miroku!" and slapped him upside the head, shaking out her hair and trudging back to shore. He couldn't help but admire her smooth thighs as she left the surf, her skin shining in the mid-day sun.

Kouga, still carrying Ayame, snorted when she smacked his shoulder and cried, "Shoreward, horse!" and began to bounce up and down. Sinking deeper into the sand as she did so, he threw her off rudely and stomped back to shore, very much in the mood for ice cream and really not in the mood for her.

Kikyou leaned into Inuyasha's ear and said, "Let's go!" He nodded, gripping her knees tightly, when Kagura pushed them from behind, laughing as both fell face-first into the salty water.

Coming up fighting, she muttered, "Oh, shit!!" as Inuyasha came after her, his lips pulled back in a snarl as he fought the current trying to grab her and dunk her.

"Come on you guys, or we're leaving without you!" Kagome called, taking Rin's hand in hers and leading the way, Sesshoumaru right behind her, the others slowly following.

**S.T.**

Walking down the beach together, the two families idly chatted about everything from school to the weather. Kikyou held Inuyasha's hand tight, Kagura walking on her other side; they brought up the rear. Ayame and Sango walked ahead of them, admiring the butts of Kouga and Miroku ahead of them, but were silent in their observation. Ayame was too shy to say anything, and Sango was trying very hard to convince herself that Miroku was not a fox.

Sesshoumaru walked ahead of them, listening as Kagome and Rin talked about school, and Rin's favourite subject, music.

He watched how easily the girls spoke to each other, as if they were Mother and Daughter, not sisters. He smiled to himself. _Kagome would make an excellent Mother… she already juggles more than her fair share as if she were born to it_.

After about an hour of walking, they finally reached Senzuru, and went right up the main drag to the first ice cream shop, called _Koichi's_.

They all ordered, and sat down around two tables on the patio in front of the parlour. Kikyou, ever the shopping nut, looked across the street, spotting a top that made her eyes bug out of her head.

"Umm, I'll be right back," she said, picking up her purse and handing her half-finished cone to Inuyasha.

"Okay," he said, "but I cannot be held responsible if this is gone by the time you get back." He held up the cone.

"Eat it, I don't care," she breathed, pointing at the top, "I want that top, and I _will_ have it!"

"Hurry back, Kikyou. We're going to play Mini-golf when we're done our ice cream."

"Yeah, I'll be back in a flash," she mumbled, running down the steps and dodging traffic in her haste to get across the road to the top of her dreams.

**S.T.**

Kikyou huffed into the clothing store, its doors open to the hot air outside, but its air conditioners and fans going full-blast. _What a waste_, she thought as she ran to the top, hanging on a rack just outside the door. She grabbed the tag; it was a medium, perfect! She flipped the tag over and nearly keeled.

The damn thing was seventy-five bucks!

She put it back in defeat. She only had thirty dollars, and she'd just spent five of it on fucking ice cream!

She almost cried as she stood there, admiring the beautiful shirt she would never own.

She turned around, about to leave, dejected, when she spotted a familiar pair of flip-flops before her on the sidewalk. Looking up, she saw Kagome standing there, her hair blowing in the wind coming off the ocean, the others visible over her shoulder where they still sat across the street.

"What's the matter, Kikki?" Kagome asked, using her pet name for her sister.

Kikyou choked, and brought her hand to her mouth. "It's too expensive!"

Kagome smiled fondly, and stepped over to check out the tag.  
_Holy shit_, she thought, but didn't let her thoughts show on her face. Taking it off the rack, she asked, "Is it your size?" Kikyou nodded, and watched with fascination as her sister marched up to the cashier and paid seventy-five dollars for a shirt that she didn't even want.

When she came back and handed Kikyou the bag, she looked at her and said, "Why did you do that, Kagome? That's as much money as you make in a day, and you blew it on me! Why?"

Kagome slung an arm over her sister's shoulder, and smiled at her, saying, "What are big sisters for if not to splurge on their little sisters every once in a while?"

Kikyou laughed, and forced Kagome to stop walking so she could hug her.

"I love you, Kagome," she whispered, and Kagome laughed, replying, "That's only because you're getting what you want!"

"No, it's not," she insisted, and Kagome nodded, taking her seriously this time.  
"Come on, the others are waiting. Let's go play some golf! And try that shirt on over your bikini top, I wanna see how good it looks!"

**S.T.**

Daichi pulled into the gravel driveway, behind a red Mustang, a black Hatchback, and a blue Mitsubishi with a mismatched spoiler. Getting out, he handed Shippo his bag from the trunk and walked into an empty house.

_Where'd everybody go?  
_

He went upstairs. All the rooms were claimed, and his bed was messed up; he wondered what had happened there, but most of the guest rooms were claimed by the girls, and his sons.

Shippo dropped his bag into the end room and said, "Alright, where'd they go?"

"I don't know, son," he replied, walking down the stairs. A platter of fruit was in the fridge, alongside some milk, but that was it. _Who made fruit?  
_

Deciding he had to pee, Daichi walked into the bathroom and closed the door, bending over to pick up a frame that had shattered on the floor. The picture inside was of him and Hitomi, taken a few months before she'd left.

He sighed, setting it back on its hook on the wall, thinking that he really should get rid of all the pictures around the cottage with her in them, but knew he never would, for the boys' sake.

Shippo opened the fridge, and took out the fruit. He frowned deeper than usual. _All the cantaloupe was gone!_

**S.T.**

Kikyou laughed at Inuyasha as they climbed the back deck, just returning from town. She was wearing her new top, and he hadn't been able to keep his hands off her. Kagome would catch her eye and smile whenever the opportunity arose, while Kagura scowled in the background, jealous of Kagome, for Sesshoumaru had stuck to her like glue all day.

The sun was just beginning to set, and as they slid the patio door open, leaving their sandy shoes outside, Daichi got up off the couch and smiled at them.

"Dinner's almost ready, guys, I hope you're hungry!"

"After all that walking and Mini-putt I'm starving!" Inuyasha flopped down at the table, and let out a loud belch.

"Eww!"

"Gross"

"Good one, bro!"

"That…was the most disgusting thing you've done so far today."

"Even more disgusting than pissing in the ocean?"

"Everyone pisses in the ocean!"

"_Whales_ piss in the ocean!"

"Okay, that's enough pissing in the ocean, children," Daichi put up a hand to stop the conversation, and steer it elsewhere.

As he set out broccoli and cheese casserole, potatoes, and steamed rice on the table, everyone sat down together to eat.

During the conversation, Daichi asked, "Who was jumping on my bed? It's a mess!"

Kagome and Sesshoumaru exchanged a look, and looked elsewhere to hide their smiles. Daichi saw this, and was suddenly happy - and disgusted - at the same time.

Finishing his last bite, he got up and said, "I'm going to go do my laundry. Excuse me."

No one paid him any mind as Shippo started to burp the alphabet, his ever-present frown gone since Rin had taken the seat next to his.

As everyone talked loudly to each other, Kagome, who sat across from Sesshoumaru, began to rub her foot up his leg. He didn't react, and she frowned. Miroku, next to him, was smiling a great deal, though.

"Playing footsies with me, Kagome?" he asked in his best Playboy voice, and she turned bright red while Sesshoumaru elbowed Miroku in the ribs, saying, "Lay off, _Moth_!"

Miroku had earned the nickname _Moth_ because he fluttered from girl to girl, never settling for one because they all refused him.

"Leave him alone, _Sesspool_!"

"Why don't you stay out of this, _Inu-trasha?_"

"Shut up, _Fro-ga_!"

"That's enough out of you, _Shrimpo_!"

Kagome looked at her sisters in dismay. _She'd created a monster_…

In the next instant a gob of mashed potato flew past her face and landed on Kikyou's new top; Kagome and her sisters shut their eyes and put their hands over their ears in preparation for the conniption fit that was sure to follow such a heinous crime.

No one heard Kikyou screaming over the din of flying insults alongside flying food, and soon, flying cutlery. All the girls picked up their plates and trooped into the living room, to eat out of range of projectile corn.

When Daichi came back, the dining room table was covered in food, and so were his sons, who had moved on from throwing food to throwing each other - out the patio door, down the beach, and into the piss-filled ocean!

Having had enough infantile behaviour for one day, he grabbed the nearest head of hair - which happened to be Shippo's - and went along like this, until he had five different chunks of hair (and scalp) in both hands.

Dragging them all down to the ocean, kicking and screaming, he dunked them all, yelling at them the whole time about making a scene and bad behaviour and the like. When they were thoroughly soaked, and relatively clean, he let them go with a warning: "Do that again, and next time it's the toilet for all of you!!"

Stepping back into the house, his pants soaked, he said to the girls, "Problem solved." and trudged up to the Master bedroom to change.

Kikyou looked at her sisters, and they all burst out laughing as the boys straggled in, one by one, sopping wet and shivering, only to have to clean up the kitchen before they could clean themselves up.

The girls laughed the whole time.

A small gob of mashed potato had been a small price to pay for such hilarity, and all at the Taisho boys' expense!

**S.T.**

Well, there ya go, and once again, sorry for the wait! I promise to try not to do that ever again! I'm starving for your thoughts, don't forget to review and feed me! Must...have...review-food...mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!


	7. Chapter 7

Okay, dammit, I had to do this twice, cuz I'm dumb, but this weekend has been all about klutzyness, so...bear with me. Like you have a choice eh?

Deds:

**S.T. Nickolian** - Congrats on being first! I don't know what the heck yer talking about, but I'm going to assume you do, and leave it at that, you monkey!

**anime-lover-forever2007** - He's mine, mine ya hear?? He is soooo hot, I totally agree, I want that to come rescue me, cuz I need to be smooched, I mean, saved! lol!

**Kitsune's Lover** - I won't starve, I promise. If anything, I'll get fatter. It's a bad thing, I know, but reviews are just sooo tasty!

**Mikkey Hodge** - Thanks, I appreciate lovely compliments. I _love_ them!

**cookiemonsterks **- You and your cookie dough are making me _want _to get fat! Arg! I just needed that clarified, thanks, I'm dumb. Aim for my face, cookie!

**Sweet Temptation**

After the boys had cleaned up, Daichi lit a campfire outside and they all gathered around it, to tell ghost stories and eat _s'mores_ for dessert.

Miroku's ghost story was a flop; he kept drifting off an a tangent in which he was describing the big-breasted, beautiful but extremely stupid girl in his story.

Inuyasha lost his train of thought half-way through his story, and Shippo's wasn't scary. Soon, it was Daichi's turn.

Holding the flashlight under his chin and shining it up on his face, he began.

"This story happened a long time ago; mind you, not so long that its lesson has been forgotten, or its circumstances less gruesome, but it is true all the same."

Kikyou smiled at Inuyasha, this sounded like a real spine-tingler. Sesshoumaru covertly held Kagome's hand in his own, though Kagura noticed. And she became angrier and angrier as the story wore on.

"About fifty years ago, back when colour T.V. was no longer that new, and housewives were plentiful…a crime took place in a small town. Everyone in that town stayed in that town; if you left, you never came back…because they would eat you."

Miroku's jaw hung open, and Sango gently eased it shut.

"The farmhouse at the very end of the street that led out of town had been abandoned for twenty years, or so the townsfolk thought. Turns out a family lives there…a family of such inbred bloodlines that to look upon any one member was to look upon the face of death.

"Corpses had been going missing from the town cemetery in the last couple months, not to mention anyone who drove out that way at night. Terrible screams could be heard, and then…nothing. So, the police decided to see what was going on, and arrest anyone they found committing any crimes.

"So, one night, they went out to the farmhouse. You know, to do a little recon, to see what was going on."

Here he paused, and Kikyou demanded, "What happened?"

He smiled, and said, "They didn't come back.

"A man named Jack ran the grocery store in that small town; everyone knew him, and he and a few buddies had been asked to go and follow up on the cops, in case they needed help but couldn't radio out, for whatever reason.

"Well, Jack and his buddies, Harry and Bill, they go up to this farmhouse in broad daylight. They check the place out, find nothing, and go home. They do this for the next three days, but they never go at night.

"No trace of the cops still hadn't been recovered, and the town was growing scared. Had the weirdos in the farmhouse killed them? Eaten them? What?

"The next night, they decide to go to the farmhouse under cover of darkness, armed with one gun each, thirty-six rounds between them. So, they go to the house, and find a door they never opened in the day; the door that led to the cellar beneath the house."

Kagome squeezed Sesshoumaru's hand, and he smiled, feeding her the marshmallow off his own stick. Kagura glowered, paying no attention to the story.

"They get a whiff of an awful smell coming from the basement, and a noise - a wet, ripping noise, like sawing through wet fabric. Opening the door, quietly, mind you, they witnessed a scene in that cellar that haunted them for the rest of their lives."

He paused again, to make himself a _s'more_, but in their urgency for him to continue, Kikyou handed him the one she'd just made, taking his half-done _s'more_ for herself.

"They crept down into the cellar, and they see the family down there, sawing something in half. The stench was overpowering; they could hardly breath, but that family, they didn't bat an eye. They were so inbred, see, that they couldn't smell because their palates had been deformed from birth, and they had no nasal passages; a nose was unnecessary.

"The men crept closer, and Bill found a radio on the ground, he picked it up, and as he handed it to Jack, his hand came away red, covered in sticky, fresh blood."

"Eww!" Ayame squealed, hanging onto Kouga, who pushed her away.

"Let's get out of here," Bill said, and Jack and Harry agreed; they'd come back tomorrow with a posse and smoke these bastards out, when suddenly the cellar door they'd come through was closed, and chained shut. Now, they were stuck in the cellar…with _them_.

"They huddled together on the floor behind a pile of crates, and decided to wait till morning before they did anything rash. Harry was afraid; he'd rather chew off his own arm than stay here for even one night. In the end, it was Harry who ultimately caused his own demise."

The people gathered around the fire were silent, attentive, absorbed so deeply in the story that Daichi gave Shippo the signal: when he came to the end of the story, he would scream and scare the shit out of everyone. He winked.

Shippo nodded slowly.

"Half-way through the night, Harry had to go to the bathroom. So, he tried to find a light, since they'd heard the family leave the cellar hours ago. But, just as he was stumbling around in the dark, he bumped into something - something hanging from the ceiling by a chain, for it swung when he bumped it and the chain screeched in protest. Lighting a match, he brought it up to his face, but his face wasn't the only one in the circle of light.

"Harry jumped, but the other face didn't move. Looking closer, he recognised who it was: the Chief of Police. And he was upside-down. Suddenly he heard a noise, and when he turned around, the family was right behind him. Well, Harry, he yelled bloody murder, and dropped the match."

He finally put the_ s'more_ he'd been holding in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. He thought it funny how everyone was leaned over so far in anticipation. He also noted a few hands gripping each other pretty tightly, too.

"There was a ripping sound, and then, nothing. Jack and Bill waited. Then, they heard a buzzing, but soon they realised that it wasn't any bug they were hearing; it was the family, sawing off Harry's legs so he couldn't run away."

"Sick," Kouga whispered.

Rin looked at Shippo, and he leaned over to whisper something in her ear. She smiled.

"So, when morning came, the two men hadn't heard a sign of the family for hours; whether they were still in the room with them, they couldn't say. Deciding to take their chances, they tried to escape. To their astonishment, the cellar door was unchained again, and they pushed it open, never happier to see the sunlight.

"Jack, he turned back to help Bill out, and when they turned around, they were face-to-face with-"

"Ahhhhhhhhh!!!" Shippo screamed.

Everyone jumped. Sesshoumaru dropped his flaming marshmallow in Inuyasha's lap. Kikyou spilled her drink all over Miroku's shirt, and the big chunk of chocolate Kouga was holding popped out from between his hands to smack Kagome square on the forehead, leaving a streak because it was melting while he was holding it.

Daichi burst out laughing, and so did Shippo and Rin. Sango smiled at Ayame; they'd had a feeling Daichi would pull something like this, and even though his other sons knew he was famous for doing just that at the end of a ghost story, they'd still jumped, to their chagrin.

Kagome was trying to wipe the chocolate off her face, but was only smearing it around; Sesshoumaru pulled her up to help her get it off. Miroku followed, to change his shirt, and Inuyasha was picking and scraping melted marshmallow off his pants and eating it.

Kikyou made a face at that.

Kagura got up. "I have to go to the bathroom."

"Hurry back," Kikyou said, smacking Inuyasha's hands away as he tried to wipe them off on her.

Kagura stomped up to the house. All through the story, he'd been holding her hand; _it was disgusting_. She had a plan, and she wanted to see if he would take a bite of her bait.

She went into the house and saw that the downstairs bathroom door was closed, and she could hear Kagome laughing. Creeping closer, she put her ear to the door to listen.

"Sesshoumaru, you're such an ass!"

"Well, hold still, and I wouldn't have to get frisky!"

"_Frisky?_ You've got more hands than a spider has legs!"

He leaned in to kiss her. Kagura put her eye to the crack in the door between the hinges.

He had her up on the sink, and he was standing between her spread legs, sucking her neck as she ran her fingernails up and down his back. Disgusted, but unable to look away, Kagura continued to look and listen.

"I've been meaning to ask you, did you get a new job?"

He stopped kissing her long enough to say, "Yeah. Kagura's Father, Mr. Onigumo, hired me last week."

"I see. What do you do for him?"

"I'm his new Employee Manager. It's a pretty slick job; I just go around the office and make sure people are doing their jobs. I don't even get my own secretary!"

"Oh, Pumpkin!"

He licked the chocolate from her forehead, while she giggled. Then, leaning his forehead against hers, he whispered, "I can't wait to see you again next Saturday. You were great."

She frowned. "You don't want to see me before then? I thought we had a little relationship budding here Sesshoumaru, and I won't-"

"I didn't mean it like that. I want to see you every night! Good thing you live right next door, I can sneak in through your bedroom window!"

She smiled. _He wasn't using her like she'd thought_. "I look forward to it," she hissed, and licked his lips. He smiled. "I love you, Kagome," he replied, and her heart melted, for the first time feeling light since her parents' accident. _She wasn't alone anymore_.

Kagura clenched her jaw. If she had her way, they wouldn't be happy for long, not when she told her Father what Sesshoumaru was about to do to her.

"Come on, let's get back. I wonder if Inuyasha got any marshmallow in his hair?"

"That poor thing. If marshmallow's anything like gum, it'll take a nice huge gob of peanut butter to get it out."

They walked out of the bathroom, hand in hand, and went back to the fire, sitting practically in each other's laps. Anyone with half a brain could see they were madly in love with each other.

Kagura remained behind the open bathroom door for a moment, changing her plan. She had originally planned to get Sesshoumaru to take her for a drive to Senzuru to get some things, but decided a new plan was in order. She quickly ran back to join the others outside.

**S.T.**

That night, as everyone trickled upstairs to go to bed, Kagura put her plan into action. She was the last to come up, making sure to leave right after Kagome and Sesshoumaru did. She watched from around the corner in the hall as Sesshoumaru took Kagome to her room and kissed her goodnight before closing her door behind her.

She smirked; _now that he was alone_…

He turned to come back her way, and she bumped into him on purpose as he tried to round the corner.

"Oh, Sesshoumaru, I'm _so_ sorry!" she gushed, really pouring it on thick. _A little too thick_, he thought.

"It's alright, it's my fault." he tried to pass her, but her arm shot out, stopping him.

"Umm, Sesshoumaru..."

"What?"

She paused; he didn't sound like he was in any mood to hear what she had to say, so she said the first thing that came to her mind.

"Daddy tells me you're a very good manager. He said something about promoting you yesterday."

Sesshoumaru's eyes lit up, and his smile came out. "He did?"

She smiled back. Now that she had his attention, she just had to hook her claws into him, and reel him in to her web.

"Yeah. I think he really likes you. I was telling him about what a nice guy you were, and he asked me why I haven't told _you _my feelings yet, but I'm just too shy; I couldn't tell him why I haven't told you."

Sesshoumaru raised a brow. He didn't know where she was going with this, but she obviously wasn't going to let him leave until she'd said her piece.

"The reason is…I love you, Sesshoumaru!"

Both eyebrows went up this time. _Didn't see that one coming_, he thought.

"Kagura, I know you think you love me, but-" he was trying to let her down easy, but she shook her head rapidly, her eyes already beginning to narrow.

"I don't think you understand me, Sesshoumaru. I said _I love **you**_; you will love me back, or at least pretend to, or…" here, she pulled him down to her level, and whispered menacingly, "I'll tell Daddy that you raped me tonight and you will lose your new high-paying job, Sesshoumaru. Are you willing to risk all that?"

He frowned at her. _Was he?_ That depended on her demands. He decided to hear her out before making his decision.

"Are you threatening me, Kagura?"

She smiled evilly. "That depends."

He sighed heavily. "What do you want from me?"

She smiled again. _This was going to be easier than she thought_.

"I want you to drop Kagome like the slut she is and be _my_ man. I want you to kiss me like you were kissing her earlier." She glared into his eyes as she smiled, a hauntingly beautiful but scary image. "_I want you to help me destroy her_."

His first thought was that he would never agree; he didn't love Kagura, and he would never even dream of hurting Kagome, let alone helping someone else to hurt her. She'd been through enough in the last two years than most people go through in a lifetime, and he refused to do that to her.

Kagura could see his indecision in his eyes, and in the defiant look on his face as he thought it over. She threw in a last little warning, as insurance for his cooperation.

"If you don't do as I ask, Sesshoumaru, Daddy will know that you raped me, and he will destroy you. You will never work in an office building again, or anywhere else for that matter. Don't fuck with me; I have more power behind me than you'll ever know. Don't make me hurt you, Sesshoumaru."

She really had his balls in a vice. _Did he do as she asked, and hurt the only woman he'd ever loved since his Mother? Or did he throw in the towel right now and try to weather the storm that was sure to follow his refusal to Kagura's demands?  
_

He was starting to get a headache. _Why him?_ He decided to ask her.

"Why me, Kagura? What did I do to deserve this?"

She draped her arms around his neck, and pulled his face close to her own.

"I love you, Sesshoumaru! And what I want, I get, one way or another."

Slinking away, she said over her shoulder, "You have until tomorrow morning to decide. Think carefully, Sesshoumaru. Is her love more important than your own skin?"

He glared at her smiling face as she sauntered away, singing to herself all the way to her room. As soon as she was gone, he headed straight for the Master bedroom to tell his Father everything.

**S.T.**

When Sesshoumaru had finished his story, Daichi had a frown on his face. His Father hadn't frowned like this since their Mother had left, and it made him feel uneasy.

Finally, he said, "Go fetch your brothers. This is your ordeal, Sesshoumaru…your family will stand behind you in facing it."

"Right."

Leaving the Master, he crept down the hall, noting that Kagura and Kikyou's door was still closed.

Quietly, he woke all his brothers, having to go into Rin's room to find Shippo, where they'd fallen asleep playing _Risk_.

He thought that that was ironic as he hefted Shippo over his shoulder. The bulky boy refused to wake up, so Sesshoumaru would let their Father handle him.

As soon as all six members were standing in the Master, their Father began.

"We have a problem, boys. Sesshoumaru just had a conversation with Kagura, and it turns out that she's got more in mind than just having a good time."

Inuyasha rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked at Sesshoumaru, who stood next to Daichi with his arms crossed, worrying at his upper lip with his teeth. His face was slightly sweaty. He began to feel anxious. If Sesshoumaru was this worried, whatever Kagura said must have been really serious.

Sesshoumaru took over from here, but Kouga interrupted, "What did she say, Sesshoumaru? Hurry up and spit it out so we can go back to bed."

Miroku elbowed Kouga in the ribs, and he went down on one knee, properly chastised, and muttering obscenities at his older brother. Miroku looked back to Sesshoumaru.

"Please, continue."

"Kagura is trying to blackmail me into helping her hurt Kagome."

Everyone perked up at that, even Shippo, who was fond enough of Rin to be concerned if someone was trying to hurt her or her family.

"What are we gonna do about her?"

"Wait, what else did she say? I want to hear everything she said to you before we decide what to do with her." Miroku eyed Inuyasha angrily; _he was so impatient!_ Always action, not words with him.

"Well, she said that unless I gave her what she wants, which is namely myself - she actually demanded my love, too - and helped her destroy Kagome, she was going to tell her Father that I'd raped her this weekend and have me fired from my job."

Kouga gritted, "That little bitch! Where does she get off, anyway?"

Miroku nodded, and Inuyasha snarled, "Let's hide her somewhere and make her Father pay to get her back, and show her not to mess with a Taisho!"

Daichi shook his head in disagreement.

"As good as I'm sure that plan sounds to you, Inuyasha, unfortunately, it is terrible. We have to decide together what to do about her. I'm thinking that I'll call Naraku Onigumo; maybe if he has a little forewarning about his daughter's intentions, her claims will go unfounded when Sesshoumaru refuses her."

They all looked at their Father; he spoke as if there was no question that Sesshoumaru would refuse Kagura's demands. It gave them all more confidence to hear him say that.

"Look, we're all going home tomorrow. If I call him tonight, he'll be expecting her story tomorrow, so we'll have the jump on her. And Sesshoumaru, in the morning, when she asks you, you will tell her that you absolutely _will not_ help her. Understand?"

Sesshoumaru nodded, and his Father sat down on his freshly made bed, and picked up the phone.

As he talked quietly to Mr. Onigumo, the boys all sat down on the bed, talking amongst themselves until Daichi hung up the phone.

"What did he say, Dad?"

Daichi sighed. "He said that he was grateful for the warning, and would be sure to have a discussion with Kagura when she came home tomorrow. He assured me that he would solve the problem."

They all relaxed, and Sesshoumaru felt better immediately. "Thanks, Dad."

Daichi nodded, and when they'd all filed out of his room, he grabbed Sesshoumaru and pulled him aside.

"Listen to me, son: don't let your guard down around her. She's the daughter of a very rich man, who really can destroy you, should the fancy strike him. Don't turn your back on her, ever."

He nodded, and walked slowly back to his room, a lot on his mind.

**S.T.**

Oooooohhhh, Kagura's being such a skeez! Lots of surprises to come in following chapters my lovelies, so help get there faster by reviewing like you've never reviewed before! Muahahahahaha!


	8. Chapter 8

Oh, oh, oh - I just got a great idea for a new story, but I can't tell you, that would be cheating! Heeheehee! I know I'm evil, you don't have to tell me! -

Deds:

**S. T. Nickolian** - Hahaha, I don't like Kagura either. She won't get shit, I promise! She's a skank.

**anime-lover-forever2007** - You are one scary sob but damn yer funny! Sure, he's all yours, do with him as you please. Something tells me he'd be really into S&M, lol. I can see the leather outfit now...yumm...

**Kitsune's Lover** - Okay, yeah, I know, I ripped off a scary movie, but I couldn't think of anything else! It was that or writer's block, so I chose that. Sigh. Isn't she a bitch, though?! Like, you just wanna throttle her, _where do you get off, you scaggy bitch?!?!?!?_ lol, don't mind me, I'm nuts!

**Little Girlie** - You think my plots are thick? ...I like that! I'm starting to get confused when I write now, it's terrible. I keep having to re-read what I've wlready written cuz I forget it as soon as I leave the room...like, can you say no attention span??

**Sweet Temptation**

The next morning at breakfast, Sesshoumaru avoided Kagura like the plague, and it was obvious to everyone, even the Higurashi girls. Kagura did nothing but smile, though.

While he was eating his Lucky Charms, Kagome walked up behind him and rested her head against his back, her hand on the back of his shoulder. He put his free hand atop hers, and began to rub it soothingly. He hadn't spoken to her all morning, was afraid to even look at her, should Kagura see them and do something to hurt her. He sighed. _It was time to set that little skank straight_.

"Alright, everyone. Get your stuff packed up, it looks like there's a storm rolling in, and we should have the house boarded up before we leave. Boys? Let's do this thing."

Sesshoumaru missed his chance to tell Kagura his decision and felt his gut sink at the thought of leaving Kagome in the house with her, and hoped her sisters didn't let her out of their sight, should something happen. He felt reasonably sure Kagome was capable of defending herself, but his gut still rocked when he even thought about leaving her.

He caught Kagura smiling in an angelic way at him as he left the house, and his uneasiness increased tenfold.

"Dad?"

"Yeah, Sesshoumaru?"

"Let's make this snappy."

**S.T.**

Kagura sat back on the couch and relaxed, preparing herself mentally for Sesshoumaru's decision.

_She would leave Kagome alone physically for now, but a little mental torment was always good for sharpening one's tongue_.

She watched as Kikyou went into the bathroom and locked the door; she was going to have a shower. That gave Kagura more time than she needed. Her sisters had gone upstairs to pack up, leaving her alone down here. She thought quickly. Ayame and Sango shared a room, and Rin had shared with Shippo…Kagome had shared with no one. If her guesses were correct, Kagome should be alone in her room right now, away from the eyes and ears of her dear sisters.

_Here I come, bitch_, she thought nastily, making her way up the steps and cracking her long, purple-nailed fingers and flinging back her long brown hair, her feather earrings tinkling as she did.

She stopped half-way up to look out the bay window at the landing and admire Sesshoumaru's broad back as he hefted the boards and plywood he and his brothers would nail to the house to cover the windows. Their Father was busy plugging in the nail gun and waiting for it to pressure up.

_Yup_, she thought, her lips turning up into a sick smile, _I've got plenty of time to rip her to shreds_.

**S.T.**

Kagome threw her shorts into her knapsack, and latched it shut. She smiled at Daichi as he nailed the last board in place over her window, obstructing her view completely of the outside.

Her door opened, and closed softly with a click. She heard nothing after that, but thought Rin was probably waiting for her to acknowledge her presence.

"What is it, Rin? You almost ready to go?"

"I'm not Rin, you empty-headed whoring bitch."

Kagome looked up at the ceiling, her back still to the door. A smile began to bloom on her beautiful face.

"Come to sniff out the competition, Kagura? I hate to break it to you, but it was no contest - he's mine. Leave it alone."

She turned around, totally un-intimidated by Kagura, whose hand tightly gripped the doorknob, should Kagome try to escape. She hadn't anticipated that Kagome would anticipate _her_.

Kagura lost a little of her confidence, since Kagome seemed to exude it. Obviously she'd been a little too subtle. Well, she wasn't her Father's daughter by accident.

Lifting her chin, she replied, "That may be…for now, anyway."

Kagome narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, making her way over to the girl at her door, four years her junior and trying to act big about a man she barely knew.

"Are you threatening me, Kagura?" she asked, smiling. Kagura began to doubt herself. _How had Sesshoumaru been so easy to manipulate, while Kagome was turning out to be an even bigger snake at the manipulation game than she was?  
_

Kagura didn't answer her, but she smiled back - the most sinister smile she could muster, and was rewarded by the flicker of hesitation in Kagome's brown eyes.

They heard Kikyou shut off the water downstairs. It would only be a matter of time before she was up here, and looking for Kagura, who had yet to pack her things.

"You better run along, little girl," Kagome warned, prying her hand off the knob and flinging the door open.

"Don't mess with me, Kagome. My Father can buy and sell you, and he can destroy you, but he won't get that honour, because it's _mine_."

Kagome had had enough. "Get the hell out of my room, you little bitch." She shoved her bodily out the door, and slammed it so hard behind her that a chunk of her hair had gotten caught in the door, and she couldn't leave.

Balling her fists in anger, for that had not gone at all the way she'd wanted it to, Kagura suppressed her rage as she heard Kikyou coming up the stairs, and an evil idea popped into her head. If she could convince Kikyou that Kagome was tormenting her, she could turn the two against each other. Their relationship was fragile as it was, but recovering quickly since the swimming pool incident. _If she could turn them against each other before they fully made up_…she smiled again. _She was a genius!_

Before Kikyou turned the corner and saw her from the end of the hall, she viciously pinched herself under her arm, where a bruise would go unnoticed under her long-sleeve shirt. As she planned, her pinch brought hot tears to her eyes, and she thought of the day her Mother had abandoned her to make her tears more real.

By the time Kikyou spotted her, she'd worked herself into a fine fit and was sobbing as if nothing in her life would ever be right again.

"Kagura! What happened? Why are you stuck in Kagome's door?"

Kagura had to think quick, and true to form, a lie came off her lips as if it had been the gospel truth and not even God himself could ever dispute it.

"I wanted to thank your sister for letting me come along, and she turned on me, told me I was a little slut, and to stay away from Sesshoumaru! Kikyou, how could Kagome be so mean? I thought she was so nice before..."

Her sobs were terrible, and had Kagome been near the door, she would have set the situation straight right then and there, but, unfortunately, she was in her private bath, cussing Kagura out and putting all her makeup back in its bag.

Kikyou's heart went out to Kagura. She knew how much her friend liked him…she also knew that her sister loved him, and he seemed to return that love with a passion. She wondered why Kagome would say something like that; she was so mild tempered and understanding, she found it hard to believe that she'd done such a thing. But still, Kagura's tears were hard to ignore. _What reason would she have for setting Kagome up like that?  
_

Her mind was tickling her, and a ray of light filtered into her brain, bringing to the surface memories collected from this morning, flashes where Kagome and Sesshoumaru had been oddly subdued, her sister forlorn as she looked at him, he seemingly afraid to return her gaze. Kagura smiling a lot, and Kagura watching both Sesshoumaru and her sister for no apparent reason. Kikyou hadn't known Kagura for long, but she used to know someone who had, and that someone had warned her that Kagura was not what she seemed. She tried to recall who that had been; she thought it had been a boy she'd passed in the hall who'd dated Kagura but had moved away, before she'd become really close friends with her.

Kikyou blinked. She'd dismissed his warning, until now, that is. Kagura hadn't really shown any interest in her friendship until a few months ago, when she'd moved into the house down the street, now that she thought about it. All the houses on the block were upscale; that's why Kagome had taken to stripping to keep it, because none of them wanted to lose the house where their parents' memory was.

She decided to play her cards close to her chest for now, and go along with Kagura's story. She tested the waters in a way that would not rouse Kagura's suspicions about where her loyalties lied.

"Do you want me to talk to her about it? I'm sure she didn't mean whatever she said, Kagura."

Kagura hesitated, only for a split-second, but that was proof enough for Kikyou, and her following words confirmed Kikyou's own suspicions.

"No, that's okay; I don't need everyone to think I'm a baby. You believe me, don't you? I would hate to have anything like this come between us all, Kikyou. I value your friendship too much to turn you against your own sister."

Kikyou found it difficult to conceal her doubt about her friend's words, but she managed to smile, and, hugging Kagura, which suddenly repulsed her, she replied, "Of course I believe you. Come on, let's pack our stuff. I'm sure Kagome will come around eventually and realise her mistake."

Kagura smiled, and let Kikyou lead her back to their room.

_Sucker_, she thought, hiding a smile behind her hand as she wiped her tears away.

**S.T.**

When everyone was ready, Sesshoumaru put all the girls' bags into Kagome's trunk, while Daichi packed Shippo in. Rin wanted to go with them, so her bag was taken out and stowed in Daichi's trunk instead.

Sesshoumaru leaned into Kagome's ear, while Kagura's back was turned, and said, "Has Kagura said anything strange to you today?"

Kagome nodded, and he said, "I think she's trying to split-" but he cut himself off as he spotted her glaring in his direction. Fed up with sneaking around, he said to Kagome, "Excuse me."

She watched with apprehension as he interrupted Kagura's conversation with Sango to steer her away, and around the corner of the house, out of sight and sound.

Kagome leaned back against her car, her gut flipping over. She could not lose Sesshoumaru to Kagura…_she would not_.

As soon as they were gone, Kikyou rushed over to Kagome and said, "Kagome, I think Kagura's up to something. She tried to tell me that you said awful things to her this morning and made her feel bad. Is that true?"

Kagome frowned at her sister. "Of course it's true! I said those things because she came into my room saying them to me. I was only letting her know which way the wind blows. It's her own fault if her feelings were hurt. But I don't think _she's _hurt at all."

Kikyou leaned with Kagome against the car, sharing her warmth in the cool breeze and said, "Neither do I."

Kagome smiled at her. _It was nice to know your sister had your back_.

**S.T.**

Sesshoumaru pulled Kagura around the corner, where she turned on him like a rabid animal.

"Well? Have you made up your mind?"

He snarled at her, "I will never love you, or help you hurt her. You can rot in hell, bitch!"

She crossed her arms. "So, you wanna do this the hard way, huh? Fine. By this time tomorrow, you will be at my mercy, Sesshoumaru."

She stomped away, stopping to pinch her cheeks, but came around the corner composed, and looking shy, as if he had tried to kiss her. She noted how fast Kagome jumped away from her car at the sight of her, and the questioning look in her eyes as Sesshoumaru came over to her.

She calmly climbed into the backseat without looking up, pretending to be too embarrassed to do so.

Kagome pulled Sesshoumaru to her as soon as he was within her reach and hissed, "What did you say to her?"

He frowned and said, "I told her I wouldn't be blackmailed by her."

Kagome forgot all about her anger and her jaw dropped open, "Blackmail? My God, Sesshoumaru, she's really serious about this!"

He nodded. "Unfortunately. And her Dad's my boss; I can only hope he'll see what a liar she is and not fire me."

She gripped his hand and pecked his mouth quickly. "We'll talk at home, after we've gotten rid of her. Then we'll discuss this whole mess."

He nodded, and, ducking his head into the wind, ran to his car and started it up, leading the way home. Inuyasha , Miroku, and Kouga all stood around their hatchback, glaring at Kagura and generally just watching the scenery. She ignored them; they were insignificant to her plans for her and Sesshoumaru's future together.

Soon, Kagome called Sango and Ayame to get in, and, after Kikyou had climbed in beside Kagura, who pretended to be asleep so she could think, they left, followed closely by Inuyasha, the rear brought up by Daichi, Shippo, and Rin.

**S.T.**

After a silent ride home, Kagome pulled in and Kagura was the first to get out, saying, "Thanks for bringing me, Kikyou, I had a great time." Here her eyes flicked to Kagome for an instant, but it was enough. "See you tomorrow in English."

She pulled her bag down off the roof and walked home, not once turning back or waving. Kikyou looked to Kagome, and Sango and Ayame both said, "Out with it!"

"Yeah, something's going on between the three of you, what is it?" Ayame demanded, as Sesshoumaru approached and Daichi pulled into the driveway behind him.

"Look, let's discuss this in the house. I don't want to have to repeat it. Sesshoumaru?"

He gripped her hand, and told her, "Come over in fifteen. We'll be unpacked by then."

"Alright. Come on, girls."

When Kagome, Kikyou, Sango, Ayame, and Rin went to the Taisho's, they were waiting for them.

Daichi let them in and, removing their shoes, followed him to the living room, where the girls settled themselves into various empty seats around the room.

Sesshoumaru made room for Kagome next to himself on the couch, and held her close as Daichi proceeded to tell everyone what was going on.

To those who didn't know, Kagura's treachery wasn't much of a shock, but Sango got angry, really angry, and burst out, "Can't we do something about her? Like, arrange a kidnapping but return her safely, or something, just to scare her?"

Daichi shook his head. "I'm afraid that's out of the question. Sesshoumaru, son, I think you should start looking for another job, and soon. Something tells me Mr.Onigumo is not the trustworthy type. I wouldn't be surprised if he fired you on the spot tomorrow. There's no doubt in my mind that if she thinks it will get her what she wants, Kagura will not hesitate to make good on her threat."

The silence that followed was stifling, for there was nothing they could do but wait and see what happened.

Slowly dispersing, Kagome led her sisters home, all of them subdued and quiet, thinking about what they'd been told.

Sesshoumaru stopped her, and pulled her away from her sisters, whom she sent on ahead.

"Kagome," he whispered, and kissed her as if it had been years and not hours since he'd last felt her touch.

She choked, "Oh, Sesshoumaru, what are you going to do?"

He smiled at her. "Don't you worry about that. I'm more worried about what she'll do to _you_."

Pulling him close, she held him in her arms as tightly as if he were going to war and might not come back to her.

"I don't care if her Father does fire me, as long as I can be with you, Kagome, that's all that matters. I love you."

She tried to stop them but the hot tears of happiness squeezed between her eyelids and down her cheeks, spilling on his t-shirt and making a damp spot.

"I love you too, Sesshoumaru," she whispered, and resting his chin on top of her head, he smiled.

**S.T.**

Awww, wasn't that sweet? Oh, I need a man like him. I think I'm gonna start writing my new story, but I'll try to keep writing this one regularly, too. Don't forget to review, and I won't forget to post! Yay, new idea, yeah! (does a little dance)


	9. Chapter 9

Ooooohhhh, letdown - only three reviews! People, we're slipping! I'm quickly approaching writer's block here, a little red flag's going up! Review me some ideas, quick!!

Deds:

**Kitsune's Lover** - The was the funniest damn review I've gotten in a long time! Everyone hates her, she's worse than Regina on Mean Girls! Well, I dunno if I should let anyone read it yet...but I'll think about it! If anyone does, it'll be you for sure!

**anime-lover-forever2007** - Not much to say there, but thanks for saying _something_. Not many people are as courteous as you are!

**S.T. Nickolian** - I know, he's so creepy, and omg, he's plotzing against everyone, as usual! Like, holy hell, who didn't see_ that_ coming??? Hahahahah!

**Sweet Temptation**

Kagura walked in the front door of the palace-like structure that was her home. She lived here alone most of the time; her Father was a busy man and, since he didn't have much time to spend with her, he gave her whatever she wanted to make up for it. She had everything a girl could want - except her Father's love. He may have given her whatever she asked for, but the one thing he was incapable of giving her was himself. He'd loved her Mother, and when she left him, his heart had died, and even Kagura, the only thing he had left of his wife, besides his youngest daughter, Kanna, could not thaw his numb heart.

Already a shrewd and sinister man, he became even more so, and his daughters were just like him. They were adept at scheming and plotting to get from others what they couldn't get themselves, and had no scruples whatsoever when it came to interfering in other people's lives.

To Kagura's surprise, her Father was home. Their housekeeper, Mrs. Kaede, told her as soon as she arrived that her Father would like to see her.

Letting the elderly woman take her bag, she marched up to her Father's study and opened his door, sitting quietly and waiting for him to get off the phone.

"Yes, I want it done tomorrow. No buts, just do it. Don't make me fire you. And make it look like an accident, I don't need another lawsuit on my hands, not that he'd win, anyway. I own this town, and don't you forget it."

Hanging up, he folded his hands together on top of his big oak desk and said, "Kagura, I hear you've been busy."

She swallowed. _How did he know? Sesshoumaru wouldn't_… but obviously, he had.

"Busy? I don't know what you're talking about, Daddy. I haven't done anything; I spent the weekend with Kikyou and her family and the Taishos."

He stared at her for a long time, and eventually she began to fidget. He smiled; she hated to see that smile. Usually a Father's smile is a delight for his family to see, but when Naraku Onigumo smiled, his daughters shivered in fear.

"That's not what Mr. Taisho tells me. In fact, he seems to think that you are trying to blackmail his son, and destroy a woman named Kagome Higurashi. Is that correct?"

She hated it when he spoke down to her as if she were an employee and not his flesh and blood.  
She said nothing, just continued to stare back at his sinister smile. He looked away, and swivelled his chair, so she could no longer see his face.

"I want to know the whole story, Kagura; then, and only then, will I decide whether or not I will help you."

Hanging her head, she swung it back up at his words. _Help her?_ She smiled to herself, an exact copy of the one now suspended across his face. _She knew her Father wouldn't let her scheme go to waste!  
_

"Well, you see, Daddy, I really like Sesshoumaru, and…"

**S.T.**

Naraku Onigumo dismissed his daughter from his study, and turned his chair back to his desk.

Smiling, he opened the locked drawer on the bottom left of his massive desk and removed a small box, a box with a tiny treasure inside; a treasure that had been dormant for centuries. It had been passed down from his forefathers, and he opened it, rolling the tiny pink Shikon no Tama in his warm palm, watching it for any sign of life, disappointed when there was none.

He'd talked Kagura into letting him handle Sesshoumaru; whereas she wanted him fired, he persuaded her that he would be more fun if he had money to spend on her, and to let _him_ do all the talking. She'd happily agreed and gone on her way.

He scowled. The thought of his daughters only brought back the memory of their Mother, and he preferred not to think of her. His daughters thought he spent so much time away from them because he was busy, but this was not so. He spent so much time at work because the sight of them repulsed him. They looked just like her, and if he spent too much time around either of them, he began to think homicidal thoughts, and would leave them right away, before he did something he couldn't take back.

He thought back to his daughters words about the Higurashi girls; _hadn't she said the oldest one was a stripper? _He wondered if she was the one.

He opened his date book and looked at the following Saturday: busy, up until six. He pencilled in _Strip Joint_ at seven, and closed the book, taking one last look at the Shikon before he put it back in its box and locked it away. Now that the girl was of age, he would present it to her on Saturday night, and if it came to life…his years of searching for her would come to fruition. For now, he had to get back to work, or Kagura might not get her wish of Sesshoumaru falling madly in love with her, for even as Naraku reached for his car keys in the dish in the foyer, his fingers began to twitch, and itch for something sharp.

**S.T.**

All week at school, Kagura was as nice as pie. Kikyou began to forget about her lapse in character over the weekend, and Kagome had not brought it up since. By the time Friday night rolled around, they were as chummy as they had been the previous Friday.

After school, Kikyou asked, "You wanna come over, Kagura? Inuyasha's gonna give us a ride."

"Sure."

Inuyasha and his brothers came up the steps then, and, picking up the girls, headed out to the parking lot.

When they got home, there was a white BMW in the drive, and its plates said HT.

Inuyasha and Miroku and Kouga all were silent. Kikyou said, "Come on, Kagura, let's go."

The boys looked at each other. "What's _she_ doing here?" Miroku asked.

"Only one way to find out," Inuyasha sighed, and got out of the car, his brothers right behind him.

**S.T.**

When Daichi had come home from the grocery store that day, he'd seen the car in the driveway, too. _Hitomi? Why are you here?_ he thought, dropping everything just inside the door, and it was still there when the boys came home from school.

He'd found her sitting on the couch, the family photo album open in her hands, her eyes moist. He approached cautiously.

"Hitomi?"

She looked up, and he felt the rush; her eyes, so blue, her dark tresses shining with the black, brown, and red tints he remembered so well.

"Daichi? Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry!" she got up and hugged him, but even though he'd missed her terribly, he was still angry at her for leaving, and he refused to return her embrace until she explained herself.

Releasing him, she stood back and asked, "How are my boys? I've missed them..."

He was silent, and allowed no emotion to cross his face. She recognised this face; it was the face he put on when he was fighting a losing battle in his mind with his emotions.

"Look, will you let me explain? I didn't leave on purpose. And unfortunately, I can't stay, either. I came to warn you."

He furrowed his brow.

"Speak."

She sighed. She hadn't anticipated that he'd be happy to see her, but she thought he'd at least be civil. _Well_, she thought ruefully, _things never turn out the way you think they will_.

She led him to the couch to sit down, and folded her hands in her lap. He watched her, filing everything away to mull over after she was gone again. He wondered if she'd stay long enough to see the boys. He found himself hoping so.

"Do you know Naraku Onigumo?"

Daichi nodded, and said, "His daughter has an infatuation with our son, and tried to blackmail him last week, but we've heard nothing more since."

She sighed again. "It is beginning," she murmured, and began to fidget.

He frowned now, "What is beginning, Hitomi? What is going on?"

She looked at him with such desperation in her eyes that he felt his heart melt.

"Listen to me, Daichi. I know this sounds bizarre, but his daughter's infatuation for our son is no coincidence."

"It's not?"

"Not at all. How long has Sesshoumaru been working for him?"

"A few weeks maybe…what does that have to do with anything?"

She decided that now was as good a time as any to confess to him her reason for leaving.

"Daichi, I have to tell you the truth. The whole truth. I'm not who you think I am; I never have been, but before I go into detail I want you to know that I never stopped loving you."

He didn't react, but she knew he felt it in his heart.

"Go on."

"I work for the Government, as a spy. I was working for them before I met you. I wasn't allowed to give away my real name, so I made one up for you. I wanted so much to quit this job and actually live the life you'd created for Hitomi, but once you're in with the Feds, you never leave."

He sat in silence still, trying not to interrupt her with the billions of questions buzzing in his head.

"I was spying on Naraku Onigumo at the time, and I still am. He is dangerous, Daichi. I don't like our son working for him at all."

"Why is he dangerous? He's a businessman, not a mobster."

"He may as well be, honey. He owns the police, he's had ten people killed in the last six months alone, and he has plans for our son. And those plans will all be determined by the young woman next door tomorrow night."

He was really confused now. _What did Kagome have to do with any of this?  
_

"Kagome?"

"Yes. Miss Higurashi has been stripping at _High Thighs_ downtown now for quite some time. Her day job is a receptionist at a Doctor's office across town. She is a perfect size six and her shoe size is eight. She is also the oldest in a family of five, her parents were killed last year, and she has the ability to bring the Shikon no Tama to life."

"Shikon no Tama? What are you talking about, Hitomi? And what is your real name, anyway? I'd like to know."

"It's Amaya, Daichi. The Shikon no Tama is a jewel that has enough power to destroy the world if it gets into the wrong hands. A spell was put on it thousands of years ago by a priestess named Midoriko, and until now has lain dormant. I know for a fact that Narku Onigumo is in possession of the jewel, and, as a direct descendent of Midoriko, and the firstborn daughter in her family, this Kagome has the power to awaken and remove the spell from the jewel. And if that happens…Naraku will rule the world."

Daichi blinked. Then, he began to laugh. Amaya's face did not change.

"Will he, now? If he has such a powerful trinket in his possession, why did he wait till now to see if she has the power?"

Amaya smoothed her white skirt and looked up at him, having gotten up off the couch at her news.

"I don't know; he has yet to contact her. I would think he would do it while she was working at the club, alone, and away from her family and friends, and then kidnap her. And she has to be eighteen."

Daichi spun around. "She turned eighteen two weeks ago!"

Amaya's face went white, "That's not good, I was hoping she had yet to come of age. Shit!"

"Why does she have to be eighteen?"

"Because Midoriko was eighteen when the spell was cast." She stood, clearly agitated. "I hope I'm not too late..."

He gripped her arms and looked into her eyes. "Too late? What is he going to do?"

She bit her lip. "It's not _what_, darling, that I'm worried about right now so much as _when_," she turned away, her heart beating faster the longer he held her there.

He was silent, thinking. After a moment, he asked, "Why, Amaya?"

She understood what he was asking of her. She sighed for the third time in ten minutes.

"Because I didn't want to put my family in danger. He found me out, Daichi, and was trying to have me killed. If he'd known about you and the boys then…I'd have never forgiven myself if anything had happened to you. I had to leave, and lead him away, for your own safety."

He frowned. "Didn't you trust me enough to tell me? I would have protected you and the boys!"

She shook her head, a look of pity settled on her face. "No, Daichi, you couldn't. The Government barely could, and they're experts at this kind of thing. I'm taking a huge risk coming to you now; that's why I came when the boys were at school, to keep the risk to a minimum."

He understood now why she had left without a word; why she had left no trace of where she was going. She was trying to keep them out of Naraku Onigumo's notice, by putting herself in the line of fire.

He pulled her close in another hug as she let him hold her, and let out his emotions. Finally, she allowed herself to hug him back; it had been so long, and she was just realising how much she missed him…he pulled away, and planted his lips on hers impulsively. She knew time was short, but any time spent with him now was precious, and would have to last her until she could see him again, which wouldn't be until after Onigumo was dead, and all his connections to her severed. She would not risk her boys again until she was sure she was in the clear.

He began to exert more pressure, until she parted her lips and let him in. He backed her into the wall, and she became lost in him; she had never been able to deny him in the past, and was no better at it now. He wanted her so badly, had missed her so much…unable to stop himself, he picked her up and carried her up to their room, and when he lay her across the bed, she looked around; everything was as she had left it. He hadn't even moved her watch from the nightstand, and pictures of the two of them and the boys were still in the same places they had been five years prior.

"You never gave up hope, did you?" she asked, smoothing his white hair behind his ear. He nuzzled her neck and murmured, "I never will, my darling Amaya."

She smiled into their kiss as he rolled them beneath the sheets, his blood on fire for her, and hers aflame with a desire five years old, and ten times stronger.

**S.T.**

Well, hopefully this garners more reviews, what with that nice cliffy there. I haven't abandoned you guys; I know I've been kinda slack in posting, but my friend just moved and I spend a lot of time at her place now, no parents, it's awesome! Though my rents still make me come home at eleven, even though I'm twenty-fuckin-years old! Arg! Anyway, enough of my problems, the characters have enough of those as it is! Gimme some ideas, I'm getting the block, not good!!!!


	10. Chapter 10

Okay you guys, I'm _so_ sorry I made you wait so long! My friend just moved into her own place, and I've been over there making food because she only knows how to make Crap Dinner, and I pitied her, and her cat is such a huge butthead, and it makes me sneeze, and eats my hair, and climbs my legs... Anyway, I had a bit of the block too, but I promised myself I'd sit here all day if I had to and work it out, and it's working quite nicely! So, sorry again for the wait, I haven't forgotten you, I just had a hard time for a bit. Enjoy!

Deds:

**anime-lover-forever2007** - Damn girl, you are one freaky chick! Fine, if you want him that bad, you can have him. Go ahead, take it all! See if I ever smile again! sniff, j/k!

**Kitsune's Lover** - I watched that the other day, I LOVE that movie, it's _sooo_ funny! Dave Chappelle is a crackup! My fav part is when when they're dressed up as chicks and Will tells Blinkin to fix his boobs cuz he looks like a Picasso! lol!

**the.love.lie** - Yer new, thanks for the compliment! I like you already!

**susie202** - Yer new too, and I'm so flattered you think my work is good. I like you, too!

**S. T. Nickolian** - Well, yer not a newbie, heh heh. I still like you though, don't make any mistakes about that! Naraku has ideas up his sleeve, and a good way to get rid of Sesshy, so watch out Kagome! Yaaahhh!

**cookiemonsterks** - (8)"Cruising to the Strip Joint...screw Margaritaville...no naked chicks there...not that I care..."(8) hahahaha! it will be...interesting, I promise! God I can't sing.

**Du Weldenvarden Farcai** - Wow, what a mouthful. Welcome to my story, and thank you for taking the time to review, even though I've been a bad girl and haven't posted for a week (?) or something like that...and thanks for the praise, I'm blushing! No, bad Shannon, you were bad, you didn't update, someone should spank you for your neglectfullness! Don't mind me, I'm crazy, and I can admit it. It's the first step toward recovery. - heehee!

P.S. Hey, if I was smart, I'd wait this long between each post; get more reviews that way! lol, no, I won't be that mean...not on purpose, anyway!

**Sweet Temptation**

Kagome came home ten minutes after the Taisho boys, and Sesshoumaru was right behind her. He'd gone to work that day expecting a pink slip on his desk, but had received nothing; no word, no hint that Mr. Onigumo even remembered the call from his Father on Saturday night. He knew he should have felt relieved, but the lack of activity only made him even more nervous. If his boss was out to stress him, it was certainly working!

She got out of her car, and went straight to him, and he held his arms open, holding her tight as soon as she was within his reach.

She looked up at him and placed her hands on his chest, saying, "Sesshoumaru, I…would you come in with me?"

He looked into her soft brown eyes and smiled, his eyes flicking momentarily to his own house, the white car in the drive going unnoticed to his love-tinted eyes.

"Lead the way, honey," he whispered, kissing her eyelids, her lashes tickling his lip. She pulled him in, and neither of them heard Kikyou and Kagura come upstairs. Kikyou saw them, and spun around so fast that she smacked Kagura in the face. "Ow! Watch it!"

"I'm sorry! I forgot something down here!" It was Rin's room, but the bows and arrows were down there, and Kikyou had to get Kagura out of the house and occupied with something - _anything_ - so that she wouldn't spot her sister dragging Sesshoumaru up to her bedroom. Kikyou knew that Kagura was back to her old self, but she still didn't trust her any further than she could throw her, and she was not going to risk her seeing what she had just seen.

"You want to learn how to use a bow? We're not doing anything else."

"Fine."

Kikyou sighed in relief. _Crisis averted!  
_

Kagome pulled him up the stairs slowly, kissing him all the way. He began to undress her half-way up, and by the time they reached the bed, he was naked.

She threw him down, and began to kiss her way up his chest, leaving a hot trail of saliva in her wake. He pulled off her bra and threw it at the wall as she laid on his chest, and started to suck his neck, and hold him tight, as if she couldn't get close enough. A feeling of love so unbound swelled within him that he couldn't stop himself from returning her attentions, and rolled her over so that he was on top.

She smiled at him, but it didn't last long; she was worried, and she wanted him as close to her as he could get, as either of them could possibly be to the other, and she wanted to stay that way. Her thoughts must have shown on her face because he rubbed a thumb between her brows to smooth the skin there and remarked, "Such deep thoughts. What is going on inside that mind of yours that makes you concentrate so hard?"

She sniffled then, and before he knew it, she was crying. Rolling off her, he knew that now was not the time for sex; no matter how much they both desired it, she needed to be reassured more than she needed sex.

"I don't want to lose you, Sesshoumaru, I've been worried out of my mind all week, and I'm making myself sick over it. I was so worried this morning that I threw up."

He laid her head against his chest and smoothed her hair, and told her, "You're worrying too much. I'm worried too, Kagome, but I try not to show it. People can use feelings like that against you. If you see Kagura, don't let her see it; don't let her see anything. She'll only use it against you."

Kagome sniffed, and placed her ear over his heart. "I love you so much Sesshoumaru…I don't know what I'd do if something were to take you away from me."

He shushed her. "That won't happen. I won't let it. Will it make you feel better if I stay with you?"

"Will you? Every night?"

The look in her eyes was so hopeful that he had to smile.

"Yes, every night. I'll move in, if you want me to."

"I want you to. More than anything, I want you with me." The conviction of her words was so strong he had a hard time believing that she'd been crying when she said them.

"If that's what you want, Kagome, then that's what I'll do."

She lifted her head to see his face. "Do you think your Father will mind?"

He chuckled, kissing her nose. "I doubt it. I'm twenty years old; he probably can't wait to get rid of me."

She smiled too, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"No, I don't think so. I think if Daichi had his way, none of you would ever leave. He enjoys the drama too much to ever let you leave him behind."

Sesshoumaru smiled. "Yeah, you're right. Dad's always been too much fun to stay away from for long."

"Good thing you won't be moving far then, huh?"

"Yeah. Maybe now would be a good time to start."

She grinned, and dried the rest of her tears on the sheet. "Yeah, let's! I'll help you."

"You mean you'll kiss me and slow me down while I pack? That's fine by me."

Dressing each other, they quietly made their way downstairs and out the door, crossing over to Sesshoumaru's. He still didn't notice the white car, even as he dragged a hand over its hood on his way past. If he had stopped to look at the plates, he wouldn't have been so shocked when he opened the door.

**S.T.**

When Sesshoumaru brought Kagome home, he opened the door and was faced with all his brothers, milling around the room quietly and occasionally looking up at the ceiling. He frowned. "What's going on? What's wrong with you?"

"Shh!" Miroku interrupted, and pointed up. Sesshoumaru made a _What the hell are you talking about_ gesture.

"Mom's back," Shippo whispered, and Sesshoumaru's face went blank.

Kagome pulled her hand from his, and turned to leave.

"I'll go, you guys will want to be alone with your Mom-"

"Oh no you don't. I want her to meet you. And besides, you need to be here, you're practically family. _My_ family." He held her close again and pecked her lips, amazed that no comment issued from his brothers.

It was a while before Daichi came downstairs, and upon seeing the groceries still on the floor, thought, _Shit, shoulda put that away_.  
But he had more important things to do than clean that up just now. He sat down and all his sons gathered in, jostling for positions. He smiled at Kagome; they would need her here, to explain the whole situation.

"Listen, boys. You're Mother has come home, but she can't stay. I want you all to know that she has a very good reason for leaving, and when she comes down I'll let her tell you the whole story."

Shippo frowned and crossed his arms. He didn't care what she had to say; she'd left him, and he hated her for it. Nothing she could ever say would change that.

When Amaya came down ten minutes later, towelling her hair dry, she stopped at the bottom of the steps and just looked at her boys.

Sesshoumaru was so tall now, the spitting image of his Father. Inuyasha was coming up, a very handsome young man; Miroku, too was growing nicely into himself, and she gazed with happiness upon his kind eyes. Kouga was also quite handsome, and she knew that he'd break more than a few hearts in his lifetime, and hoped she'd be there when he did. And lastly, she rested her eyes upon Shippo, her baby. He refused to smile at her, and her heart contracted. _Did he hate her?_ She felt tears sting her eyes, and quickly wiped them away. She'd have to speak with him.

Her eyes strayed to the young woman, with black hair and brown eyes, her hand clutched tightly in Sesshoumaru's. _This must be Kagome_, she thought, smiling warmly at her.

Sitting next to Daichi, who took her hand in his for moral support, for he knew this would be difficult, she said, "Oh, you guys… I missed you so much!" and she couldn't stop the tears from flowing. Four of her sons rushed to her, Sesshoumaru standing behind her, his hand on her back, while the other three knelt before her on the floor, comforting their long lost Mother. She held out her arms and hugged them all for a long time, and soon everyone was crying, even Shippo, though he still refused to come to her.

Finally she got up and approached him, saying, "Shippo darling…I'm so sorry, but I had to, baby…I went away for you. I never stopped thinking about all of you for even one second! Please, don't turn me away."

Finally breaking down, he turned his muscular little body into her shoulder and clung to her like the child he still was, and sobbed his misery while she wrapped him up tightly in her arms. Kagome had a hard time controlling her own tears as she watched Amaya cajole Shippo into acknowledging her, and she smiled up at Sesshoumaru, who smiled back, hugging her around her shoulders with his left arm, his other hand on Daichi's shoulder.

Amaya led Shippo back to the couch where Daichi moved over to make room for him between himself and his wife. Wiping her tears with her bathrobe sleeve, she began.

"Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, Miroku, Kouga, Shippo…Kagome," she called each by name and they stared back at her, the atmosphere in the room suddenly becoming thick with tension.

"We all are at a very dangerous time in our lives - especially you two." She nodded to Sesshoumaru and Kagome. Sesshoumaru tightened his grip on Kagome and she rested her cheek against his shoulder, the steady beat of his heart reassuring and calming her frazzled nerves. "A man named Naraku Onigumo is in possession of one Sacred Jewel, known as the _Shikon no Tama_. This jewel is extremely powerful. Once the binding spell on it is removed, it has the capacity to destroy the world as we know it, and a very dangerous man holds it in the palm of his hand."

Kagome looked up at Sesshoumaru, and whispered, "Kagura's Father… oh Sesshoumaru!" and buried her face in his shoulder, her cries muffled in the cotton. The implications of Amaya's story were stupendous - and she hadn't even heard the whole thing yet! She needed drugs, and fast.

Amaya knew that Kagome's state of mind was fragile, and really didn't need to hear what she was about to say, but she plunged ahead regardless, it had to be said.

"Kagome, you are the only one who can remove the spell."

Kagome looked up at the older woman, and sniffled loudly, making everyone in the room wince at the disgusting noise. "Sorry," she said, then whispered, "Why me? How?"

Standing, and coming to pause next to her son's girlfriend, she put a comforting hand on the young woman's arm and explained, "Because you are the eldest in a long line of priestesses. Do you know of an ancestor of yours, Midoriko?"

Kagome's mouth dropped open. "Great-great-grandmother Midoriko? Oh, no!" she wiped her nose again, on her sleeve.  
"My mother used to tell me and the girls about her, that she had been a very powerful woman, but she never told us we were anything special. Why me, and why now? What is going on?"

Amaya brought her to a chair to sit in before she passed out, for the colour had drained from her face and she was swaying crazily all the way to the chair. Kneeling before her, Amaya continued.

"I am a spy for the Government, Kagome. I have been spying on Naraku Onigumo for more than twenty years. Five years ago, he found me out and has been trying to kill me ever since, forcing me to leave my boys and go into hiding. Just being here right now has put you all in danger, since he lives three doors away, but I had to risk it, for everyone's safety. He is a dangerous man, Kagome, and he knows about you now. My last intelligence message was that he had moved here because he had finally found the girl who was Midoriko's descendant, and that upon your eighteenth birthday, you would have the ability to remove the spell, for that is how old your great-great-grandmother was when she placed the spell. Has he tried to contact you yet?"

She shook her head, "No, but his daughter wants Sesshoumaru and has threatened to hurt me if he doesn't comply."

Amaya nodded her head, all her suspicions confirmed. _The prophecy was true_…

"Listen to me, Kagome. You have to be extra careful now. He will probably try to contact you at work. He will offer you a pink ball, and when you touch it, it will glow, and he will know you are the one. I cannot allow that to happen. Can you take this weekend off?"

Kagome smacked her forehead. "No way Ken's going to give me another weekend. I just took this past weekend! He barely let me have the one I got, no way he's gonna let me off again, and besides, it's only a weekend job, but I make more in those two days than in five days at the doctor's office, and I need the money to keep our house!"

Amaya nodded in understanding; before she'd gotten snatched up by the Government, she herself had worked a few odd jobs to keep afloat.

"Alright, well, Sesshoumaru, you will have to go with her, and keep an eye on her. Do not let her out of your sight for one second, do you understand me?"

"Yes Mom, I do. I won't let anything happen to you, Kagome." He pulled her to him once more and kissed her temple, his brothers looking away, envious.

"Alright." she stood, and pushed her wet hair off her face. "I just hope we can contain him and take possession of the Jewel before he awakens its true power. If that happens…pray for mercy."

She pulled Kagome aside, and told her, "If he manages to corner you and Sesshoumaru cannot help you, play along with him. If he thinks you are ignorant he will be less likely to harm you in the end. And if you get that Jewel…do not call out its name, do you hear me?"

Amaya's words were so desperate that Kagome nodded her head just to appease the woman.

"Good," she sighed, and visibly relaxed. _Wow_, Kagome thought, _she really is scared. And I thought I was anxious, I can't imagine what her life must have been like the past five years, that's an awful skeleton to have in your closet_.

Kagome did make a mental note not to call out the name of the Jewel, and Sesshoumaru told them then of his plans to move out, and Daichi broke out the champagne to celebrate. Though he would miss Sesshoumaru, he wasn't going but a holler away, and in an effort to lighten the mood, he suggested a family trip to _High Thighs_ that weekend, much to the consternation of his wife against five cheers from their sons who thought that was an _excellent_ idea. Kagome just turned red and hid her face in Sesshoumaru's shirt once more, her embarrassment complete.

**S.T.**

Later, in Sesshoumaru's room, as she helped him pack his most necessary things, since they decided to move him out over a few days, and there wasn't any hurry. Sesshoumaru suddenly remarked, "You know, that's not a bad idea."

"What's not?" Kagome asked, stuffing his work shirt neatly into his duffel bag that he used to use when he played hockey as a boy.

"All of us going to _High Thighs_."

She turned to look at him, and said, "I refuse to strip for minors, especially your brothers. I have a rep I'd like to keep intact, thank you."

He smiled, but she didn't smile back. "I'm serious," she pressed, punching the shirts in. "I refuse! I'll quit first, and you know I can't afford to do that. Don't make your favourite girlfriend pack up her family and move into the Poor House."

"I'm serious, too. It would mean several extra pairs of eyes, and more protection for you. Can't you change your routine so you don't take everything off?"

She huffed and puffed, then turned to him, all worked up. "No, I can't, Ken would fire me! As thoughtful as your idea may seem, Sesshoumaru, or rather, your Father's idea," she rolled her eyes, "it's a terrible one! No!"

"Alright, just I'll go then," he said, walking around his bed and wrapping his arms around her from behind, nuzzling her neck with his nose and licking her soft spot, just below her ear.

"Good," she replied, closing her eyes and just enjoying the feel of him so close to her. "If your brothers ever saw my routine I'd never hear the end of it, and my sisters would behead me in their extreme displeasure because their love interests have lost interest. I don't relish that at all."

He smiled, and kissed her neck, turning her to face him.

"I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

She held him to her, trying to ignore the sick feeling of premonition in her gut. Something Amaya had said earlier rung like a gong in her mind: _Do not call out its name_.

She shuddered, and led Sesshoumaru to his bed, where she pulled him down next to her and just begged him hold her, until she fell asleep.

**S.T.**

On Saturday morning, Kagome awoke, and rolled into a warm body.

Sesshoumaru rolled over to face her, but he was still sleeping. He looked like a little boy when he was asleep. She smiled.

Getting up, she realised she'd fallen asleep in her clothes and leaned over to kiss his forehead, before she turned to go home.

She was just through the door when Sesshoumaru grumbled, "Wait."

She came back, saying, "Shh, go back to sleep. I have to get the girls up and ready, they probably all came home late last night. Come over when you're ready."

He breathed out, and she left, closing the front door quietly behind her. In her own house, only Rin was awake, and eating Cheerios in the living room, watching T.V.

"Everyone still asleep?"

Rin nodded. "Kagura slept over last night."

Kagome frowned. _She really didn't like that girl_. It was about time she told Kikyou how dangerous her friend and her family really were.

"Is Kikki in her room?"

Rin shook her head. "She's in my room. Kagura snores."

Kagome smiled as soon as her back was turned to her sister. _What an unattractive habit_, she thought, smirking.

Kagome jogged downstairs and sat next to her sister's sleeping body, and leaned over her, licking her finger and jamming it in Kikyou's ear.

"Yuck, get away!" Kikyou hissed, trying to swat her hand away. Kagome laughed. "Wake up, sleepyhead. We gotta talk."

Kikyou rolled over, and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "I know, Inuyasha told me."

Kagome blinked. "When?"

"Late last night. After Kagura fell asleep."

Kagome sighed in relief, and Kikyou grabbed her hand. "Let me get rid of her, and then we can tell the others. I'll go up right now and tell her that I have an appointment today, and she'll go. Okay?"

Kagome nodded, and Kikyou hugged her. She could see the strain of the tension taking its toll on her sister, and her heart went out to her. Kagura made her uncomfortable, and Kikyou had forgotten. She felt ashamed; _what kind of sister forgets something like that?_

When Kagome came out of her room, dressed in new clothes, Kagura was gone, and Sango and Ayame sat at the table with Kikyou, Rin having gone to hang out with Shippo at the park a few blocks away.

As the girls ate their Cheerios, Kikyou reaching into a lower cupboard for the sugar, Kagome joined them, and Kikyou passed her the box.

"So, what's this we hear you're in danger?" Sango remarked, putting her spoon in her mouth and crunching loudly. Kikyou's eyes flew to Kagome's, who met them, then looked away.

"Kagura's Father is evil," Kikyou said around a mouthful of Cheerios, and Kagome remained silent.

"What do you mean? I don't like Kagura, but I didn't know you thought she was evil, Kikyou. You're her best friend!"

"I didn't say _she_ was evil, though she was sure acting like it for a while there," Kikyou mumbled, flipping open last week's newspaper, which happened to be lying next to her bowl.

"Are you in trouble, Kagome?" Ayame asked, her brow furrowed. She didn't like the thought of any of her sisters in danger.

"I might be, yes. Sesshoumaru's coming to work with me tonight. Apparently this Onigumo guy is going to try and see if I can awaken some jewel."

"We know, Kikki told us last night, after Kagura started snoring." Sango smiled, in an effort to lighten the mood.

"I can't believe Mrs. Taisho is a spy," Ayame remarked, and the rest of them nodded their agreement.

"I had no idea. At first I thought she was nuts, but Daichi believed her, and I trust him. If he thinks she's telling the truth, than so do I." Kagome's sisters were surprised that she was so calm. Kikyou supposed she was keeping her fears to herself for their sake, so no one would start freaking out, but she couldn't repress the feeling of fear that threatened to sever her own fragile hold on reality.

Sango looked at Ayame, thinking something similar. Sango spoke up, "Well, maybe we should go out today. You know, to get your mind off things, until you have to go to work. What do you say? We can ask the guys to come with, and we'll go bowling, or something."

Kikyou smiled, and Ayame beamed. Kagome allowed a small grin to tug at her lips.

"That's not a bad idea, Sango. You're smarter than you look."

Sango made a face, as if falsely accused. "I'm so insulted! That was so rude!"

Kagome laughed, and Ayame punched Sango good-naturedly. Kikyou shovelled in her last bite, and scraped the sugar off the bottom of the bowl with the spoon as she collected milk. "I think that's a great idea. You're a genius, Sango."

Sango smiled. "Thank you, I know, you don't have to tell me. It's not easy being me, you know. Smart, beautiful, athletic, a real catch-"

Kikyou punched her, "Don't go getting carried away, Miss Perfect! You have four other people to compete with, you know!"

Kagome smiled at her sisters' antics. _Maybe today would be a good day after all_.

**S.T.**

Rin looked sidelong at Shippo from behind her hair. They sat down on a bench, and watched the skateboarders do stunts on a ramp to their right.

She felt her smile grow as she looked down at her hand, firmly gripped in his. She felt all her blood rush to her face in a hot blush, and dipped her head lower to hide it.

Shippo felt like he'd sprouted wings and had experienced flight for the first time. He'd been really confused last night after the sudden appearance of his Mother, and after spending a few hours just talking with her, after Sesshoumaru had taken Kagome upstairs, he'd felt better than he had in five years. So, the next morning, while checking his email, Rin had come on Messenger and he'd asked her to the park.

Now, as he sat tightly gripping her hand, his thumb stroking her knuckles, he smiled. On his way out his mother had been packing her things. She smiled at him on the way by, and said, "Be good to her, Shippo. She loves you, you know."

At first he had been confused. _How did she know about Rin?_ But he figured one of his brothers had told her. He blushed, but promised, "I will, Mom. I will."

Now, he pulled her hair back to reveal her small smile, and tucked the lock behind her ear. Leaning close, he whispered, "You're pretty today."

She laughed. "Are you saying I'm not pretty any other day?" He was about to retort but his words died on his lips at her laughter.

"You know what I mean," he mumbled, and turned her chin so he could look right into her face, and she abruptly quieted, and as he drew nearer, her eyes shifted down, her lids following, until they rested on his mouth, closing in on her own with such sudden alacrity that she felt as if it were someone else and not her this was happening to.

As his warm lips pecked hers, then pulled away, she felt cheated; she wanted more, so she chased him, seeking his lips until they were once again hers, and she trapped him there with her hand to his head, so he could not escape, not that he even wanted to. He was delighted that she'd chased him, and was only too eager to learn her flavour.

Rin felt the world around them slip away as Shippo kissed her deeper, and knew that he was everything she'd imagined him to be. Trailing her hand down his neck to cup his jaw, she cringed as her phone rang, and she broke the kiss, and he furrowed his brow. "Who is it?"

She flipped open the phone and replied, "It's my sisters. I wonder what's going on?"

She answered, "Hello?" as Shippo leaned in to hear better.

"Hey Rin, it's Kikki. You and Shippo wanna come bowling? We're all going."

Shippo said, "Ask her if my Mom's going."

"Is Mrs.Taisho coming?"

"No, she's going to stay at the house with Daichi, until she leaves, which she said wouldn't be until after that guy tries for Kags, so we thought we'd take sis's mind off things by bowling. You two in?"

Rin looked at Shippo. "Why not? Sounds like fun."

"We're in," Rin told Kikyou, and Kikyou said, "Alright, meet us here in ten. Bye!"

"Bye."

Rin flipped the phone shut and jammed it back in her shoulder bag, and turned to Shippo, her face flushed.

"We should do this again," she murmured, leaning her forehead against his.

"We will, I promise," he murmured back, kissing her one last time before taking her hand and leading her through the park and up the block back home.

**S.T.**

Ohh, mushy! Shippo loves Rin! neener neener neener! Lol, I'm such a butthead. Once again, thanks for waiting you guys, I'll try to never do it again. I was bad, and I feel bad, don't worry I feel so guilty. Sigh. Bad girl... Anyway, I'm still writing, and the bowling scene is funny, so stay tuned, and review me! You were so good last chap, I'm inspired! Yay! I smell like a hooker... go cheap perfume!


	11. Chapter 11

Okay, this is the second time I'm trying this, so forgive me, I hate this piece of crap! This chap goes to my best buddy Rachel, and whoever reviewed the last one. My alerts aren't working, strangely, so I can't tell who has reviewed, and for a while there, I was really depressed cuz I thought no one did, but its the comp's fault, piece of shit!!

**Sweet Temptation**

When Rin and Shippo got home, Sango yelled, "Okay, they're here, let's go!"

Kagome jumped into the passenger seat of Sesshoumaru's Mustang and Inuyasha, Kouga, and Miroku all tried to squeeze in, but Sesshoumaru yelled, "For Christ's sake, take your own car! What do I look like, a friggin' chauffeur?"

Kikyou opened the door and pulled a sulking Inuyasha to his Hatchback, where three girls and three guys fit comfortably. Rin and Shippo climbed in behind Kagome and Sesshoumaru, and when everyone was belted in, they took off to the Bowling Lanes in Town.

**S.T.**

"Go Sango!" the girls yelled, as Sango hurled her ball down the lane, the ball bouncing twice before hitting one pin.

"That was pathetic!" Miroku shouted from the next lane, where he was jamming his fingers into a shiny blue ball. "And you even have bumpers! Come on!"

Sango stuck out her tongue. "Shut up, lech! This isn't a competition!"

Kikyou laughed at her sister, who stomped back to the bench to stew over her bad bowling. She tried to put a comforting hand on Sango's shoulder, but she hissed, "Don't touch me! I can do this without any of you touching me!"

"Calm down, Sango," Kagome soothed, the worry still evident in her face. Sango uncrossed her arms and sighed. She forgotten just how badly her sister needed this to relax, and here she was making things difficult. She smiled.

"I'm sorry, he just makes me so..."

"Angry?" Rin supplied.

"Yeah!"

They all laughed, and leaned over to look past each other into the boys' lane. Miroku had gotten a gutter ball while they were talking, and Sango smiled sweetly at him, to which he only glared. Kouga was up next, and he let go of the ball so smoothly that he made it look effortless. Ayame picked up her ball, a metallic white one, and aimed for the pins, as her sisters loudly cheered her on.

When she released it, it swerved left and right, hit a bumper, and knocked over five pins.

"Yeah! Go Ayame!" Kikyou jumped up, and Sango did a little victory dance. Kouga had gotten a strike, and a new set of pins was being set up in their lane, and Sesshoumaru approached the line, his own red ball from home in his hand.

Kagome also got up; it was her turn now, too, and she gently hefted a soft green ball, and caught Sesshoumaru's eye as she did it, and he smiled.

"Ladies first," he said gallantly, gesturing with his free hand, but she grinned and shook her head.

"After you, I insist," she giggled, and he shrugged.

"Alright."

Releasing his ball, it knocked down nine pins, and his brothers cheered, Inuyasha coming up to sort a dark red ball from the bunch in the dispenser.

Kagome smiled when Sesshoumaru looked to her for comment.

"Very good."

He grinned, and hooked his thumbs in his belt loops, eager to see her throw her ball.

Rin leaned over to Sango and whispered, "She's our secret weapon. They aren't gonna know what hit 'em."

Miroku and Kouga watched with a jaundiced eye as Kagome toed the line, and crouched over it, positioning her ball on the centre mark.

Sesshoumaru raised a brow. _What is she doing?_

Sango elbowed Ayame, who grinned and looked over at the guys, puzzled looks on all their faces, and a smirk on Inuyasha's. Kikyou could almost hear what he was thinking: _She's gonna Granny bowl? Ha! What a loser!  
_

But she knew better. Kagome had been a champion bowler when she was in high school, but none of the guys knew that because they'd been busy with their own lives then, and didn't pay any attention to what the older kids were good at. Sesshoumaru didn't even know, for he'd been too busy fending off girls in high school to ever bother to find out what Kagome was good at. All he had known then was that she was hot and that he was tongue-tied whenever she was around.

Kagome let go of her ball, and watched it as it slowly made its way toward the pins, swerving every now and then as if it was going to miss the pins completely, but at the last second, it straightened out and all ten pins went down, and the Higurashi girls exploded in sound.

"Yeah, Kagome! You did it!"

"That was so awesome!"

Sango ran to the divider between the two lanes and said, "In your faces! Our sister can hit more pins than your brother! Ha ha ha!"

Kagome grabbed her by her shoulders and pulled her away, saying, "Now Sango, no one likes a gloater! The boys are just as good as we are."

"Yeah!" the boys' chorused, and Sesshoumaru winked at Kagome, who smiled in return.

"Okay Rin, your turn."

Rin grabbed a black ball and whipped it down the lane, looking almost as professional at the game as Kagome did not, but she only managed to hit four pins, much to her chagrin. Regardless, her sisters praised her effort.

Shippo, an orange ball in hand, tried to bowl like Kouga, but missed all the pins completely and got a gutter ball. He frowned and went to join Miroku in what their brothers dubbed, "Gutterball Heaven" or the end of the bench. Both of them just glared back at their more talented brothers.

Finally, Kikyou's turn came, and, talking sweetly to her red and white-striped ball, she threw it gracefully down the lane, scoring a spare.

Inuyasha, his ball in hand, chuckled at her, and she raised a brow, clearly challenging him to do better.

Smirking, he let the ball loose, and made swerving motions with his body when he wanted the ball to swerve, which it did, up until the very last second when it hit a small bump in the wood and nicked one pin before rolling into the gutter. The pin spun and tipped crazily, but eventually it slowed and stopped, still standing upright.

"Damn it!" he exploded, as they all laughed at him. Crossing his arms and glaring at Kikyou, who smiled a smile of pity for him, he plunked his butt in Gutterball Heaven, next to Shippo, who pushed him away because he sat too close.

"I hardly see how this counts," Inuyasha grumbled, Shippo and Miroku nodding. "They have bumpers, for shit's sake! They're practically cheating! It's not fair!!"

Again, his brothers nodded.

Sesshoumaru listened to his brothers complain, and, sitting next to them, he pointed out, "Remember, it's not their fault that you suck. They admitted it when we got here, and you were okay with letting them have the bumper lane. Are you admitting that a bunch of girls with bumpers are better bowlers than you?"

Inuyasha's face flamed with anger. "No! I just think that they should have their bumpers taken away, to even the odds."

"In other words, you want to prove just how bad at this you are by taking away their bumpers? They'll make mincemeat of you. Let them have their bumpers. Kouga's keeping us slightly ahead. You can't be good at everything, Inuyasha."

Pressing his chin to his chest, Inuyasha muttered, "We might not win if Kagome keeps getting strikes. She hasn't missed yet, and even though Kouga's a champ, he's missed twice already."

Sesshoumaru smiled a little. "Well, maybe there's more to Kagome than just good looks and a great bod, no?"

Inuyasha looked up with his eyes, but nothing more. After a long pause, Sesshoumaru heard a quiet, "Maybe."

Grinning, he left, and went to get something to eat. Up at the counter, the Manager handed out a pair of size three shoes to a small girl's mother and turned away, to write down their names on a signup sheet.

"Hey," Sesshoumaru said, trying to get his attention.

"Whatta ya want, kid?"

"Can I get some chilidogs, please?"

"How many?"

"Ten."

The Manager looked at him as if he'd grown a third eye, and then let his gaze travel the length of Sesshoumaru's tall yet muscular frame.

"You really think you can eat ten chilidogs, son?"

"No, I know I can't. They're not all for me, they're for my brothers and my girlfriend's sisters."

"Oh." He looked at Sesshoumaru for a minute, then, shaking his head, whacked a bell on the counter and yelled into the back, "Ten chilidogs for lanes Three and Four!"

"Thanks." Sesshoumaru paid him, and went back to his seat, only to have to get up and shoot again. He eyed Kagome in her lane, crouched down so ridiculously in her guaranteed method of striking, and decided to copy her.

Crouching, he looked at her again, and she looked back, smiling in approval of his stance, and he felt his face flush red. Letting go of his ball, he watched as it made a strike at the same time hers did, and on an impulse, he jumped into her lane and pulled her close, kissing her soundly in front of all their siblings, who looked on with varied reactions, from red faces to brilliant grins of happiness for the two.

Pulling away, he whispered, "You know, someone once told me that imitation was the sincerest form of flattery."

She took a breath. "Did they? Well, I'm certainly flattered." and she kissed him this time, then led him back to sit with her on the girl's side, only letting him go back to his own when it was his turn.

When the chilidogs came, Kagome sat quietly and reflected on the afternoon. It had been a lot of fun, and she looked at her watch. It was five thirty.

_Shit_, she thought, _I have to go_.

"Sesshoumaru, we have to go, I have to be at work in half an hour."

He jammed the last of his dog in his mouth and replied around it, "I'll get my keys."

Rin looked over and said, "You going now?"

Kagome nodded, and Sesshoumaru came back with his jacket, which he draped over her shoulders.

"Good luck you guys," Sango and Ayame said, and Kikyou held Kagome's hand a moment longer than necessary, her touch much more than any words of hers could convey.

Kouga, Miroku, Inuyasha, and Shippo watched forlornly as Sesshoumaru led her away, all feeling the tinge of fear for them knife through their guts. When they were out of earshot Inuyasha remarked, "God, I hope they know what they're doing."

His brothers nodded in agreement, and Kikyou, her hand over her heart, whispered, "So do I."

**S.T.**

Kagura sighed. She was laying on the couch in the living room, a magazine open before her, but she hadn't read a word. It had been a week; she had done everything her Father had told her to do to regain the Higurashis' trust, but still nothing that she wanted had happened.

Now, as she heard her Father come down the stairs, she thought about asking him to speed things up, then thought better of it when she saw what he was wearing.

Normally a man who wouldn't be caught dead in anything less expensive than Armani, Naraku Onigumo stood before the mirror on the landing in a pin-stripe suit, adjusting a tacky, mis-matched tie. His hair, which he normally wore long and tied back, was gone; it had been trimmed to within an inch of its life, and Kagura gasped. He looked really sharp, though the suit was a little beneath him. As he came the rest of the way down, he spotted her watching him and scowled.

"Kagura, Kaede has dinner ready for you. Go eat it."

She frowned. _He was such a tyrant sometimes!  
_

Huffing in annoyance, she did as he told her, but on her way past, he caught her arm.

For the first time in her life, Kagura looked up to see a paternal look to her Father's face, nothing in it suggesting just how much he loathed her.

Shocked, her mouth fell open, but he pretended not to notice her inarticulate lapse in dignity.

"Kagura, I am going to see Kagome tonight. Stay near the phone; I may need you later."

Kagura nodded dumbly, still stunned that her Father had just spoken to her so nicely. _What does he have planned?_ She thought. _It must be something great, if he's practicing his nice-guy act on me_.

Continuing on her way, an evil little grin spread over her face like a rising sun. She was sorry now that she had been impatient; _Daddy will fix everything_, she reassured herself, and sat at the table to eat her roast chicken.

Naraku felt in his pocket, and took a quick inventory of what was in there.

The Jewel was there, and several twenties, and his most expensive watch. The one he had on had been a gift from his employees, and was a cheap knock-off, but it suited the look he wanted to achieve. Without his long, greasy hair, he would go unrecognised except to those who knew him well.

Slipping on a matching jacket, he left the house, and instead of getting into his limo, he walked to the garage and backed out the Benz, black in colour, his favourite colour.

Re-checking his new haircut in the rear-view mirror, he smiled his most confident grin, and was pleased with what he saw. He was going to knock her off her feet, and she'd never know until it was too late. It was this thought alone that kept him smiling all the way to the club.

**S.T.**

Sesshoumaru looked over at Kagome as he drove. She had her hands folded in her lap, and she was silent; he couldn't even hear her breathing. If not for the rise and fall of her chest, and the occasional blink, she could have been frozen. As he drove back out to the suburbs to their houses, _Lips of an Angel_ came on the radio. Smiling, he turned it up and grabbed Kagome's hand, and rested it in her lap.

He mouthed the words as he drove, turning to smile at her often, and she smiled back. She appreciated the effort he was putting in to relax her, but she could not shake off the terrible feeling of premonition in her gut.

When they pulled in, she said, "I'll only be a minute. Wait here." and ran into the house.

While she was gone, Daichi and Amaya came out, and leaned in the driver's side window.

"Sesshoumaru, darling, please be careful," Amaya warned, leaning into the car to hug her oldest son.

"I will, Mom. She means everything to me…I refuse to let anyone take her away."

The conviction in his son's voice made Daichi smile, and he patted Sesshoumaru's back. "That's my boy."

Sesshoumaru smiled back. Amaya smiled too, but her nervousness was quite apparent. "Mom, are you gonna be okay?"

Amaya, busy looking around in the darkening light, quickly replied, "I'm great, Sesshoumaru. Don't you worry about me." With these last words her gaze came to rest on his face, and she visibly relaxed, and Daichi clutched her tighter to him.

"Listen, son, if anything happens, and you need us, just call." He handed Sesshoumaru his cell phone.

"Your mother can have the Feds down there faster than you can blink. We want that man caught, and soon."

"I know, Dad. I just wish Kagome didn't have to be the bait."

"Us either, Sesshoumaru."

Rolling up his window, he watched his parents re-enter the house, their fingers locked together, and he couldn't help but marvel at them. They'd been apart for five years, but to look at them you'd never know it. To love and trust each other again so completely in such a short time, after such a long separation…he hoped he could forge a bond that strong with Kagome, though he had no intentions of ever letting her go, not without him there to watch her back.

Slamming the door, Kagome was dressed in her long coat, and pulling her keys from the pocket, she locked it and ran back to the car, her hair whipping around her head like a black halo in the wind that had picked up, and the first fat drops of rain splattered the windshield as she climbed in, a flash of lightening proving the storm above them was about to break.

"Let's do this thing," she said, her voice completely void of emotion.

"Yeah." Backing out, he drove back into town, to the strip club known as _High Thighs_.

**S.T.**

Sorry guys I'm in a hurry gotta go to work, but review please, cuz I been writing while I wasn't updating, and I gotta tell ya...it's getting intense! Stay tuned!


	12. Chapter 12

Woot, two updates in one day! I'm making up for all the updating I missed because of Rachel (shakes fist in her general direction) and her stupid cat, Fathead! Anyway, I have one ded to make, since she is such a dedicated reader, the only one left apparently, which makes me hella sad. Sniffle. "Not much of a body, but better than nothing..."-Sou'unga

Ded:

**anime-lover-forever2007** - I'm sorry, I don't think I can fit you into the story, I don't even know yer real name (I'm such a dummy) but even so, thank you thank you thank you for reviewing! I thought for sure you all thought I abandoned you, but really, I was just busy! And it worked out, because I got some awesome ideas and am rapidly putting them down on here, so please, come on, forgive me? Please??? Pretty please with a cherry on top??? (Seriously, Kagome's vision was so much fun, I can't wait for you to read it.)

Oh, and Jen(K'sL), where are you?? I thought you'd be harassing me to update by now! Has my writing become so bad you won't read it anymore?!?! Oh god, I think I'm gonna cry...where's the fucking chocolate when I need it??

**Sweet Temptation**

Kagome kissed Sesshoumaru one last time before she went to her dressing room. He would stay in the audience, and keep his eye out for Onigumo. Kagome was to carry on as if she were ignorant of the whole deal.

She closed her door, and took off her coat. She had several different outfits for stripping, but the one she'd chosen tonight didn't come off.

Despite what she'd told Sesshoumaru, her boss cared not if she took her costume off, as long as she was showing an obscene amount of skin, by her standards anyway. She had a different song she wanted to dance to tonight, too - something that went with her outfit.

Sitting at the vanity, she noticed an enormous vase of red roses, with a note slipped in between the dark blossoms. Frowning slightly, she opened it, and felt her stomach flip over.

Folding the note, she threw it away, and dropped the whole vase and all the roses into the garbage on top of it. Leaning on her vanity, she began to apply her makeup and do her hair. She had a plan, and it would take everything she had to make sure nothing happened to botch it up. Her life depended on it.

**S.T.**

Sesshoumaru leaned against a wall, and tried to stay in the background as he scanned the faces in the dimly lit room around him. The club, which opened at six, was already filling up with people, the majority of them men. There were a few women here and there, but most of them were on stage, working.

A waiter walked by and he grabbed a beer off the tray; paying customers were privy to three free drinks before they had to start paying for them, too. He didn't want the beer, but he needed something to calm his nerves, and it was the only thing at hand.

Men began to stream through the doors, the two bouncers on either side checking them for any weapons or illegal drugs. _High Thighs_ may have been a strip joint, but it was a very high-class one, and only permitted the most eligible customers. Its employees were also paid a salary, along with whatever they earned on the floor during their routines.

Sesshoumaru waited for a long time; Kagome wasn't scheduled to come on until seven. She had told him that, unlike some of the newer girls, she was more experienced, and so instead of dancing around some pole all night, which she had started out doing, she had moved up in the chain to specialty performer; her shows were attended and awaited by the most people, and were quite a sight to see.

He'd seen her last week, and hadn't been lying when he'd told her he was impressed - he'd seen some good dancing, but she made dancing look like the art form it was meant to be, and she managed to put a sexy twist into it that suggested much more than she ever showed.

He looked at his watch; it was six-thirty. _Where is he?_ he thought, aggravated, looking for the long greasy ponytail that would mark Naraku Onigumo.

**S.T.**

Naraku sat in a VIP seat in a private room at _High Thighs_. He watched the goings-on in the club from a closed-circuit camera, which fed into a large-screen television. He sat alone, and only a waiter came occasionally to refill his glass. The digital clock on the wall read six forty-five.

_Only fifteen more minutes_, he thought, his skin tingling with anticipation. _She should have gotten the roses by now_. _Soon you will be mine, Kagome, and when I have you in my grasp_…

He shuddered. Just thinking of her was like a drug. He eyed the phone on the end table on the left side of his leather recliner. He picked it up, and dialled his home phone.

When he hung up, the waiter came back, and, after whispering in his ear, and handing him the watch from his pocket and a hundred-dollar bill, the waiter refilled his drink and left.

Naraku sat back, and waited for the show to begin.

**S.T.**

Sesshoumaru looked at his watch for the tenth time in as many minutes.

He still hadn't seen him, and there were five minutes left before Kagome was due to come on.

Leaving his post, he noticed a security camera screwed to the ceiling above his head; noticed several of them, in fact. If he could get in to see the tapes…he abandoned that thought for the moment as a bouncer approached him, and stood next to him, his arms crossed.

"Seen you here last week."

Sesshoumaru looked up at him. The man was burly, and quite tall, considering how short the majority of people there were. Sesshoumaru was amongst the tallest himself, but this man made even him feel small in comparison.

"Pardon me?"

The man turned just enough so his one eye was focussing on Sesshoumaru's face. He looked like a bulldog, as if he'd seen many a fight, and he showed the scars. His face was like a mashed pulpy mass that had healed badly, leaving smooth skin but mangled features.

"You deaf? I said I seen you here last week. You come to see her again?"

Sesshoumaru was taken aback at this. The man talked gruffly, but he wasn't giving Sesshoumaru a menacing vibe; in fact, he seemed genuinely curious.

"Yeah. She's my girlfriend."

This seemed to spark the bouncer's attention, and he smiled, and held out his hand.

"Well, then, I'm glad to meet such a lucky guy. Name's Jaken, but you call me Jak. Who're you?"

Sesshoumaru restrained the strong urge to raise a brow at the way in which this Jak spoke of Kagome so familiarly. She'd never mentioned him to Sesshoumaru before. He shook his hand, and replied, "Sesshoumaru. Yeah, she is."

"She's great. The other girls, they won't talk to me on account of my mug, but her, she always smiles, she's always friendly. Ain't another girl here like her. I'd jump in front of a bullet for that girl."

Sesshoumaru suddenly saw Jaken in a new light. He wasn't the dumb lug he had at first appeared to be, but no matter how ugly he was, Sesshoumaru could not squash the feeling of jealousy that rose up his throat as he listened to the man describe his relationship to his girlfriend.

"Yes, she is very special. I'm not here tonight to see her perform, though. I'm keeping an eye on her, she might be in danger."

Jaken turned to him fully now, revealing no eye on the other side of his face, but a patch of smooth, stretched-taut skin.

"What kind of danger?" Sesshoumaru decided that he could trust Jaken, for he seemed to really be concerned about Kagome. Sesshoumaru took him aside and whispered to him the gist of the situation, and just as Jaken was about to respond, a waiter pushed past them, and covertly dropped something in Sesshoumaru's jacket pocket.

When he'd passed, a voice came over a loudspeaker and announced, "Gentlemen, your wait has come to an end. In just two minutes, _Miss Conduct_ will be on to perform her show!"

Sesshoumaru frowned. "Who's _Miss Conduct?_"

"It's her," Jaken said, and quickly pulled him into a covered hallway.

"Listen, I know the guy yer talkin' about. He's got a VIP room here, that's why you haven't seen him on the floor. Are you sure he's going after her? 'Cuz he's been here once or twice before and left without any problems."

"I'm sure. Now, where is his room?"

Jaken frowned, making him look as if he were in pain. "I dunno, there's a dozen VIP rooms at the club; he could be in any one of 'em. They don't tell us who's in which one, it's a part of our Discretion Agreement, everyone who works here's gotta sign one."

_Shit!_ Sesshoumaru thought. _How will I find her if he gets her?  
_

"Listen, is there a surveillance room? If we can keep an eye on her from there, maybe we'll be able to spot him and track him down. This guy's dangerous, I'm not kidding. He wants her, and I won't let him take her!"

Jaken admired the loyalty he heard in Sesshoumaru's voice. He was very fond of Kagome, as he'd said; he wanted nothing bad to happen to her, either.

Nodding, he said, "This way," and Sesshoumaru followed him down the corridor around a corner, and up two flights of stairs to another corridor, and a row of rooms lining each side. At the mouth of that hall, was the video surveillance office.

Jaken opened the door, and gestured, "After you."

**S.T.**

Kagome took one last look in the mirror, and touched up her lipstick. Leaving her dressing room, she smiled and greeted several girls on her way to the stage, friends she'd made over the months she'd been here, none of them just co-workers anymore.

When she got there, she handed the DJ a slip of paper, and he nodded, giving her the thumbs up sign, and when she had turned away, he admired her backside, and nodded to himself. Anyone watching would assume he was nodding his head to the music he was hearing through his headphones, and would be none the wiser.

She got into position, and the stage manager turned on the smoke machine. She glanced up at the clock on the wall: six fifty-seven.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, and thought of Sesshoumaru. He would be out there watching her, and for the first time since she started this job, she felt her dance had a purpose. She thought of it as a mating dance for him; she had changed just about everything in her routine for tonight. He couldn't accuse her of monotony, not after tonight.

Ken, the owner of the club, came up to her with his ever-present clipboard and headset.

"You ready kid?" he asked, and she nodded. She found it funny that he always called her kid, when she looked nothing like a kid anymore. Perhaps he did it because she was so young…whatever his reasons, she didn't care. She had a job to do, and several people to impress while she was doing it.

As the music started, she took another deep breath, and opened her eyes, the curtain parting before her to let in the spotlight that blinded her to the audience, making stage fright unnecessary until further into her performance.

**S.T.**

Kikyou looked at the clock on the wall at the Bowling Alley. It read six-fifty.

She looked to her sisters, and they all looked back at her. When Kagome wasn't around, Kikyou slid into her place as the leader, for she was the oldest of the triplets. She didn't get to play this role often, and when she did, she felt the pressure it exerted so acutely that she was more than happy to return it to Kagome when she came back.

But none of them knew if their sister would make it home from work tonight. Kikyou dreaded this thought; she wasn't ready for that much responsibility, should worse come to worse, and it scared her deeply. Inuyasha, who had just beaten Miroku in a chilidog-eating contest, belched loudly and looked over to see if Kikyou had been watching, but what he saw confused him.

She and her sisters all sat around their little scoring table, their heads down and looking forlorn.

Elbowing Miroku, he too frowned upon the sight. Grabbing Kouga, they went over the divider and sat around the girls.

"Kikks, what's wrong?" Inuyasha asked, tucking her forelock of long black hair behind her ear. She looked at the clock again, and he followed her eyes. Rin said dejectedly, "Kagome's about to do her routine."

The brothers looked at each other. Inuyasha took a deep breath.

"Listen, why don't we go over there? At least then we can see what's going on, and if they need us, we'll be there."

Kikyou looked up, one of her delicate brows raised high, her sisters imitating her.

"What? It's just a suggestion, you all seem so depressed at being away from her, I thought that you'd want to be near should anything happen, but hey, don't listen to me, I'm just an idiot who-"

"Inuyasha! Shut up!" Shippo snarled, and turned his attention back to Rin, who hugged her knees beneath her chin.

"Let's go," Sango said, grabbing her jacket. "I don't want to be here anymore."

"It's not that far; Rin, can you and Shippo walk? There's not enough belts in the car for you."

Shippo replied, "We'll be fine. You guys go, I'll get Rin home."

Nodding, they all left, more quickly as the hour approached.Hopping into the Hatchback, Inuyasha asked, "Everybody in?"

"Yeah's," came from all around, and he pulled the keys from his pocket, turning the ignition.

The engine sputtered, coughed, then died. Inuyasha frowned.

"What's wrong?" Kouga asked, smooshed between Inuyasha and Miroku up front.

"I dunno," Inuyasha murmured, looking at the gas gauge; it read three-quarters full. The _check engine_ light wasn't coming on, but another light in the corner caught his attention. It was faint, but it glowed.

"Shit!"

"What?" everyone asked, exasperated.

"The fucking battery's dead! I must have left the headlights on. Fuck!" He pounded the steering wheel, and Kikyou rubbed his shoulder consolingly from the backseat, and he calmed.

"This isn't a problem," Miroku said, pulling off his belt and getting out.

Opening the trunk, he pulled out the jumper cables.

"Now all we need is someone to give us a jump."

In the backseat, Ayame chewed her lip, and both her sisters looked at her wrist when she pulled pack her sleeve and pushed the light button on her digital watch. Ten minutes after.

Time was a-wasting.

**S.T.**

Just wait, it'll get even better, I promise! Now, hopefully since this is working again, I'll get some reviews, because I'm tempted to quit posting if no one's gonna read this. That will put me in a depressive funk and I'll gain like, twenty pounds, so please, don't let me do that to me! I don't wanna put a number on the reviews I receive before the next update either, cuz that's presumptuous, or at least it can be, so please, don't make me do it! Now, back to writing the intense scene where Kagome meets Naraku in his...


	13. Chapter 13

Okay people, this one is extra long because I couldn't bear to be mean and leave you with a nasty cliffy that you all would have shot me for! Besides, since someone tells me I am "very suspenseful", and in other words, sure know how to drag out a scene for like, years, I thought you might like a little enlightenment into Kagome's point of view, if you will. And, since there have been a sufficient amount of reviews (I'm gonna piss my pants in giddiness), I have deds to make! Woohoo!

Deds:

**anime-lover-forever2007** - Ah, forever faithful you are. I am glad to have such a fan in you. So glad, in fact, that I'm going to overlook your impatience, and hope this chapter tides you over...like, yeah, right! Anyway, can't wait to hear from you about how this one goes!

**cookiemonsterks** - Hahaha, about that...yeah, you'll find out. I may just disappoint you there...heehee...oops! Heeheeheeheeheeheeheeheheeheeheeheeheeheehee.

**kagome555** - Well, since you are a first-time reviewer (and you have friends who like this too, oh, I die of happiness!) I will try not to suspend you for too long. As I mentioned above, I seem to have a knack for that...are you guys annoyed yet? Hahahaha! Anyway, enjoy, and I hope your friends like this chappie, too!

**yoli05** - Yes, I laughed myself silly writing this, and I'm very happy that you like it. Very happy indeed. This has just been a good day for this story! EEEEEEEE!!! Oh great, know I'm acting like too much of a girl! Anybody got any extra braincells I could borrow??

P.S. Jen, you bum, I'm starting to freak out. Where are you? Have you been lost? Gack! Someone, call ISII!!!!(Whatever the hell that is. Personally, just call 911, k?)

**Sweet Temptation**

Kagome let out the breath she'd been holding, and tried not to smile as she entered the stage to the booming voice of the DJ, "Gentlemen, may I introduce…_Miss Conduct_!"

Whistles and shouts were heard all around as the smoke cleared and they all saw her outfit. She was wearing a black leather suit, covered with buckles and chains, with boy-cut shorts and a short sleeve, tight shirt. All one piece, if she wished to remove it, nothing would be left to the imagination, or so the men in the audience hoped. She began by taking small bits, one at a time.

The song she'd chosen, _The Wretched_, but Nine Inch Nails, grew louder as she progressed further out. She chosen it because she was feeling a little vengeful; knowing she was being watched inspired in her that very feeling, and she wanted her dance to reflect that. In the back of her mind, as she unzipped zippers and undid buckles on her clothing, slowly shedding bits of it here and there, she tried to imagine that everyone she could see looked like Sesshoumaru, and to her astonishment, it seemed to be working.

Up in the Security office, Sesshoumaru, Jaken, and the officer in charge stopped to watch her on the little T.V.'s on the large desk, which showed several different views, and they were silent as they watched her perform.

Naraku, in his VIP suite, sipped his champagne and slid down further in his chair, his hand snaking to the zipper on his cheap suit-pants.

Kagome had blocked out all the different faces by now, and all she was seeing were a lot of Sesshoumaru's watching her. She crawled along the stage, down to a bra and panties leather ensemble, having stripped away the rest of her outfit, and she leaned back over the stage, allowing the nearest patron to stuff a few bills into her cleavage as she caressed his jaw, before rolling over and gracefully hopping off-stage, to make her way through the audience to the bar, where she let a young man help her up onto the bar, getting a peck on the nose in return for his kindness.

By now, her bra was overflowing with cash, and she pulled out what she could quickly as her back was turned, and handed it to the bartender, who put it in a jar with her name on it.

Turning back to her audience, she did a slow splits on the bar, wetting her finger and dragging it over the lips of an older man, who smiled and stuffed a hundred under her bra strap. Smiling, she winked at him and made her way back to the stage, stopping at every steel pole along the way to give it all her attention, before finally disappearing behind a curtain in a cloud of smoke.

Her dance lasted fifteen minutes; the DJ had put her song on loop and now he crooned, "Let's hear it for _Miss Conduct_!" and a loud applause could be heard out on the floor.

Sesshoumaru blinked. Her dance had been the most sensuous thing he had ever witnessed, and looking around at the other two men in the room with him; it was easy to see her affect on them. He, too, was having a little difficulty hiding his lust.

"Wow," Jaken finally breathed, smiling at Sesshoumaru. "She really knows how to work an audience. No wonder Ken don't give her time off! She makes more money for him than any girl before her."

Sesshoumaru turned away, his brow furrowed. There had still been no sign of Onigumo, and he was starting to get desperate. His lust fell by the wayside as anxiety for her safety took over.

The Security officer held his walkie to his ear and listened to the order issuing from it.

"Yeah, I'll check him," he replied, and turned to Sesshoumaru. "I'm sorry, but I gotta frisk you."

Sesshoumaru outright frowned now. "Why?"

"'Cuz our head guy downstairs got a report of a stolen watch, and you fit the description. It's just procedure, won't take long."

Sighing angrily, Sesshoumaru allowed the guard to frisk him, and Jaken winced sympathetically, but his jaw dropped open in shock when the officer pulled a solid gold Rolex from Sesshoumaru's left jacket pocket.

"That's not mine! I didn't take that!" Sesshoumaru protested, but the guard was already trying to cuff him.

"Jak, help me," he grunted, and Sesshoumaru looked to Jaken, who, despite his feelings, helped his superior cuff Sesshoumaru.

_I can't believe it, her man's a thief_, he thought, shaking his head in dismay. He would have never taken such a concerned boyfriend for a klepto…

**S.T.**

"Hurry up! Someone could show up any minute!" Inuyasha hissed.

"Will you shut up and let me do this?" Miroku bit back.

When Miroku had gotten the jumper cables out, they all assumed he would ask the nearest person for a jump, but, since they had been the only car in the lot, Miroku had put the car in neutral and he, Inuyasha, and Kouga had rolled it across the street to another parking lot, where several cars were parked in a row, and they had stopped at the first one with its front end facing out. Kikyou had operated the brake while they pushed, and she kept asking Ayame for the time until Ayame exploded, and Sango laughed out of extreme anxiety for their sister's safety.

Miroku had broken into the other car, popped the hood, and attached the cables, and now they stood around waiting for the battery to charge, but it was taking a really long time.

Kikyou leaned out the window and yelled, "What's the hold up? I thought this only took a few minutes, not until next Wednesday!"

"Shut up, we're working on it!" Kouga snarled, and Inuyasha smacked him.

"Don't talk to my woman that way, slimeball," he threatened, and Kouga glared at him, but held his tongue.

Sango climbed out of the backseat, and, observing the two cars, smiled, and began to giggle.

"What's so damn funny?" Miroku growled, pissed off that she could be laughing at a dire time like this.

"God, you guys are _sooo_ dumb! You've never jumped a battery, have you?"

Walking around Miroku, she leaned on the driver's seat and pulled out the plastic cover under the steering wheel, and, sorting out the mass of wires, began to strike two together, until the engine started.

Getting out, she closed the door and smirked, "The engine has to be running if you're going to get a charge, dumbass."

Miroku blinked, and reaching around behind her, squeezed her ass. She glared, and smacked him hard enough to leave a red hand-shaped welt on his cheek, stretching over his nose and fringing on his right eyelid.

"What the hell was that for?" she demanded, her hands on her hips, and he rubbed his face, replying, "Took that smirk off your face, didn't it?"

Laughing, he backed up as she tried to slap him again, but was held back by his brothers, one holding each of her arms as she fumed, ready to claw his eyes out should he get within her range.

A few minutes later, their battery was good to go and Miroku was disconnecting the cables and shutting the other car's hood when he heard a shout.

Inuyasha looked up from where he leaned against their car chewing his thumbnail and said, "Did you guys hear something?"

Miroku turned around, and remarked, "Yeah, I see something, too. Get in the fuckin' car!"

Spinning, Inuyasha saw a very angry housewife storming toward them from across the street, her husband wielding a baseball bat behind her and heading in their direction.

"Shit!" He jumped behind the wheel, roughly shoving Kikyou aside as Miroku jumped into the passenger seat and Kouga clawed his way into the back, his legs still hanging out the open window as Inuyasha sped away, creating a black cloud of smoke as his tires burned rubber on the hot pavement.

Looking out the back window, Kikyou huffed, "God, I hope they didn't get your plate number."

Inuyasha blew her off. "No way, not with all that smoke."

"You hope," Miroku muttered, holding onto the dash for dear life as Inuyasha took the corner at eighty, literally tipping onto just two wheels as they turned.

Looking at the dash clock, Kikyou shuddered. Almost six-thirty. _God_, she thought, _I hope we're not too late_.

**S.T.**

Kagome smiled at Kaiko as she passed her; she was next on stage. Dressed in a white feathered leather get-up, she looked like a big swan, but Kagome would never tell her. She had many patrons who favoured her show, and Kagome would never begrudge her her talent, for she had been a ballet expert before she'd gotten pregnant by a boyfriend who left her and her life had gone to shit. Kagome pitied her, and was always sure to give her a kind word whenever they saw each other.

As Kagome reached her private dressing room, she closed the door behind her and flicked on the light. To her surprise, and her chagrin, another large vase of roses sat on her vanity, their pungently sweet smell overpowering the entire space.

_Persistent, aren't you_, she thought, once again opening the card from in between the blood-red blooms.

_Fine, you want me_… _I'm coming_, she thought, plucking a single rose from the bunch and shredding it with her fingernails.

There was a loud knock on her door, and she jumped, and she hoped it would be Sesshoumaru, but was disappointed when Ken shoved his head into the room.

"Great show tonight, kid. You keep attracting this many men, and I'll promote you to Leila's room. She's getting old, anyway." He said more to himself than to her. She turned away and began to re-touch the make-up she'd sweated off and said, "That's great, Ken. I'd love a bigger room. Will the pay get better, too?"

He raised a brow at her, and she laughed. "That's what I thought," she said, shaking her head.

"I'm not going to work here forever, Ken. When I get married, I'm gone."

"Then you better not get married soon, kid, 'cuz you're my best girl. This club has never seen so many patrons until after you started. I don't want it to end, so dump yer boyfriend if ya got one and stay with me."

She guffawed. "As if, Ken! Gimme a break! No way I'm turning down marriage to a great guy to work at this dump!"

"Hey! Don't bad-mouth my dump," he smiled, closing her door behind him and sitting on a chair covered with discarded clothing. She smiled at him in the mirror, and he watched her touch up her face until he suddenly burst out, "Oh yeah, I forgot. We had a theft tonight."

She frowned at him in the mirror, and stopped what she was doing. "Oh yeah? What was taken?"

"A gold Rolex. Big shot up in VIP had it on when he got here, but when he went to check the time, it was missing. Apparently some white-haired guy took it. I personally don't know why, by the look of his leather jacket he certainly didn't need the money pawning it would bring him."

Kagome dropped her lipstick, and it clattered to the floor as she spun in her seat.

"Did he have long hair?"

Ken scratched his head in thought. "Yeah, he did, now that you mention it. Why?"

Kagome was about to tell him everything, but decided against it. _No_, she thought, _I have to keep going as if nothing's wrong, or I'll blow my cover_.

"No reason, just thought I saw him in the audience tonight. Good-looking guy, too. Why are all the good ones fuck-ups?"

She cringed inwardly as she said that. _I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru_, she thought, her heart lurching even as she pasted a disgusted look on her face, and flossed her white teeth.

"I dunno, but I better not catch you with one of them, I'll tan yer hide."

She grinned at him in the mirror. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were worried about my well-being, Ken."

He coughed, and cleared his throat, embarrassed. "I am not," he retorted gruffly, "I just don't want to lose a popular girl, is all."

She shook her head. "Sure Ken, that's what they all say," she drawled sarcastically, and got a small smile from him.

"Look, I'd love to stay and chat, but a VIP has requested my company. I probably shouldn't be late."

"I won't keep you, then. The VIP send these?" he gestured to the roses, and she crinkled her nose at them.

"Yeah. They stink."

"Don't you like roses?"

She glowered at her reflection, more Gothic than she ever wanted to be again, and murmured, "Not anymore."

Ken shifted his weight, and asked, "Can I take them, then? My wife loves roses."

"Be my guest, the smell of them makes me wanna mack."

Grabbing up the vase, he turned to her. "Make me look good up there, Kags. It's the executive VIP's that pay the big bucks, and I know how bad you wanna keep your house and sisters together. Don't disappoint me!"

She smiled a little and replied, "I won't. I don't know the meaning of the word. You'll get your money, don't worry. I got it covered."

He opened her door and jostled the horrendous mass of roses from one hand to the other, and remarked, "In your case, kid, it may get to _un_covered." And with that said, he was gone.

Turning back to her vanity, she clenched her fists and teeth at the mirror. _Goddamn you, Sesshoumaru!_ she thought, tears springing to her eyes, but she wiped them away before they could ruin her make-up. _You were supposed to watch my back!  
_

Sighing, she kicked off her high-heels and slipped her feet into knee-high heeled boots, and did up the zippers.

_I guess I'm on my own_, she thought, the air around her becoming heavy with her tension, and her gut clenched so bad that when she stood up, she felt like macking all over, but knew she wouldn't.

_Alright you bastard, here I come_. _I promise you a night you'll never forget_.

**S.T.**

Sesshoumaru bitched all the way to the police station over his innocence, and when they shoved him into his cell, he ran back to the bars and shouted, "This is ludicrous! I didn't take it! Dust it for prints, you'll see!" but no one paid him any mind.

_Fuck! I let her down_, he thought, sitting on the edge of the cot and staring onto the steel toilet bowl, clutching his forehead in his hands.

_I'm so sorry, Kagome_…

Fifteen minutes later, a familiar voice drifted to him from out in the precinct, and after a moment, an officer showed Kagura in to see him.

Opening the cell, he locked it behind her as she stood looking at him, her purse in her hand and a wad of cherry gum in her mouth, a devilish smile on her face.

_What the hell?_ He thought, and his gut flipped over as she made herself comfortable against the bars, not speaking.

Finally, she asked, "Have they given you your phone call?"

Glowering he replied. "No. Why do you care?"

She made a face at him, and said, "My, my, we're surly tonight. I'd think twice about how you speak to me, Sesshoumaru, I may just be your ticket out of here."

He didn't deign to look up at her again and asked from under all his hair, "What's that supposed to mean? Have you come to bail me out?"

She pushed herself off the bars and began to slowly make a circuit of the tiny cell.

"Maybe I have. How badly do you want to get out of here?"

He smirked at the floor, and smiled as he glanced up at her dramatically made-up eyes, responding, "That depends on the price if your generosity, now, doesn't it."

She grinned. "You never were a slouch in the intellectual department, were you, Sesshoumaru?"

"I try not to be. Spill it."

She turned her back to him, and pretended to check her appearance in her compact.

"Well, for starters, I want you. Your loyalty to me, and everything that entails, and I want Kagome gone. Do that for me, and we have a deal. You never know, Sesshoumaru; I may seem cruel and cold-hearted now, but you might just grow to love me as I love you, given half a chance"

Sesshoumaru ground his teeth together. The cops had taken his jacket away, which had had the phone in the breast pocket, so he couldn't call his parents. He needed to get back to Kagome, but the cops wouldn't release him until his innocence was proven or he paid his bail, and he had no way to do either of those, not anytime soon. He sighed, and squeezed his eyes shut. _It seems that once again Kagura has my balls in a vice_, he thought, mad at her, mad at her Father, but most of all, mad at himself, for failing the only woman he loved as deeply as if she were his own flesh and blood, even deeper than he loved his estranged mother.

_Fine, Kagura_, he thought, grinning, _have it your way_. _As soon as you get me out of here, you're going to have a hell of a time holding onto me_.

"Fine."

She blinked, stunned. "What?"

"Fine, you win; I am at your mercy, Kagura. Do with me as you will, just don't hurt Kagome. You got what you wanted, leave her out of this."

Kagura grinned so widely that her eyes disappeared for a moment, before she pulled him close and gazed happily into his lacklustre eyes, their golden facets enchanting her.

"You've made the right decision, Sesshoumaru, I promise you won't regret it!"

Flagging down a guard, Kagura got out, paid Sesshoumaru's bail, and, her arm linked with his and her Father's watch safely ensconced in her purse, they walked out of the precinct, toward a black limousine.

**S.T.**

Inuyasha drove past the police station on his way downtown, and as he did, he thought he saw someone who looked an awful lot like Sesshoumaru get into a black limo with…Kagura? _What the hell?  
_

"Either I'm blind, or that's Sesshoumaru, and he's getting into that limo with Kagura. Can someone please confirm what I'm seeing? I don't want to be blind, I'm too young."

Miroku looked, and replied, "You're not blind, unfortunately your vision is perfect. Keep going."

Everyone in the car sat forward. "What?!"

Miroku said, "If he's getting in that car, he must've gotten caught, you guys. That is the only reason he'd be at the cop shop. Kagura must have bailed him out…but for what price? And how did he get in there in the first place?"

"Maybe someone planted something on him, or framed him," Kikyou said, voicing the first thing that popped into her mind, and Miroku turned to her, a giant grin on his face.

"You might just have something there, Kikyou! Those are two very valid reasons… and if Onigumo came up with them, he's effectively gotten rid of Sesshoumaru. You didn't see Kagome back there, did you?"

Everyone replied, "No..."

"Exactly. She must still be at work, and from what I gather…she's all alone."

A solemn silence fell over the group, and only the sound of the wind could be heard passing over the car outside.

Not one person in that car didn't feel real fear for Kagome in that moment.

**S.T.**

Kagome slowly climbed the stairs to the VIP suites, her booted feet clicking on the marble floor as she made her way down the hall. Slipping the card from under her bra strap, she flipped it over.

Room Ten.

She was outside Room Three now, and she paused. Her gut felt as if it was going to drop out her rear, she was so nervous. Turning to the nearest mirror, she noticed tiny sweat droplets clinging to her skin again. Furrowing her brow, she tipped the nearest vase, got a fist-full of water, and flicked it at her face, neck and chest, the cool drops making her feel a little bit better. Checking her reflection one last time, she took a deep breath and said, "This is it, girl. Don't fuck it up."

Continuing briskly down the hall, she came to Room Ten, and right when she was about to turn the door knob, something happened.

**_oOo_**

She looked around. _Where the hell am I?_ she thought frantically, her hand still on the knob, but it wasn't the stainless steel knob of the VIP suite at _High Thighs_; this knob was old, really old, and made of…bronze?

_Okay, I think I'm freaking out_.

Looking up, there was a high ceiling above her, and ornate tapestries covered the walls between windows paned with several different colours of glass. She frowned, a comical sight to anyone, had they been watching.

"Hello?" she called, wandering slowly away from the door. She passed a mirror, stained around its bevelled edges from age, and she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of her reflection.  
I

nstead of the black leather Goth ensemble she'd chosen that night, her legs were covered by a long red skirt, and her chest hidden under a dull silver breastplate, with intricate designs in relief worked into the metal. On her shoulders were several plates, in layers, and at her waist a long, broad sword was strapped. Her shirt was white, and a red and white sash held everything together at her waist. On her feet were boots, but not her knee-high's - these were only ankle-high and fitted; she could feel the seams in the wood beneath her feet through them, they were so thin.

Lastly, on her head, she wore something akin to a crown, only it wasn't made of precious metal, it looked like steel, with its only adornment a red ruby just above her forehead. And her hair was about ten inches longer.

_Holy shit_. _Have I entered another dimension, or am I losing my mind?  
_

A loud bang was heard from somewhere ahead, in what she assumed was a castle she was standing in. _What year am I in?_ she wondered as she passed the tapestries. The noise was heard again, and as she rounded the corner, the hallway spread out into a second-floor balcony, giving her a view of the large foyer below, where two large oak doors with enormous iron hinges stretched from the floor to the vaulted ceiling. It was from here the noises were issuing.

Leaning over the edge, she saw herself - or someone who was dressed exactly as she was, and the woman was slashing the large sword at a giant spider, but instead of a traditional spider's head, it had a man's torso where its head should have been, and amongst all the spider legs, green vines curled about, choking anything and everything within their reach as the demon battled the woman.

Kagome blinked as the woman sliced off a large leg, and two vines that came shooting toward her, shouting, "Nice try, Naraku, but you're going to have to do better than that if you want to get the Jewel, and even if you do manage to get it away from me, you'll never be able to awaken it's power, for I have bound it with a spiritual spell so powerful even you will never be able to break it!"

_Naraku? Where had she_…_that was Kagura's father's name, and Sesshoumaru's boss! _Suddenly what she was seeing made sense. She waved her arms in the air when the woman looked up at her, but got no response.

_They can't see me; this **is **a vision_…

Suddenly a white-haired man with a large fur ruff flung over his shoulder blew open the doors, blue light crackling up his long broadsword as he cut his way in, the demonic power making Kagome's hair stand on end with its electricity.

When the debris ceased to fall, and the dust from the fallen ceiling cleared, she got a good look at the newcomer. His long, silky white hair, his golden eyes, and his tall, muscular frame…

_Sesshoumaru?_ she thought, her eyes widening. But this couldn't be him, his face was marred by two magenta stripes across both cheeks, and she could see that they slashed around his wrists, too. And his clothing was just as old fashioned as hers and the woman's below, whom he held tightly to him, his hand gripping her shoulder, the other pointing the large sword at Naraku.

When he spoke, his voice was deeper, like Daichi's, but essentially the same as Sesshoumaru's, too.

"This is the end, Naraku. Your descendents will never hold the power of the _Shikon no Tama_!"

Naraku laughed, a slow, sinister chuckle that grew into loud, raucous cackling.

"You two haven't beaten me yet. You may have managed to seal off the Jewel from me in this generation, but my sons will never stop searching for a way to break your spell, Midoriko! You got lucky this time, because your dog has come to save you, but one day, the Jewel _will _be mine once again!"

Midoriko smirked, and moved away from the white-haired man, who let her leave his protective embrace. Holding up the Jewel in her hand, Midoriko closed her eyes, and began to chant. As both men and Kagome watched, fascinated, the Jewel slowly dimmed from a shimmery, bright pink to a dull, solid metallic sheen, and no longer glowed with power.

"My daughters will never let your sons awaken the power, Naraku - only we can remove the spell. You will remain powerless, and when your sons die, your blood dies with them. _Perish, Naraku_!"

And, grasping the Jewel in her hand, she ducked, and the white-haired demon let loose an awful explosion of power from his sword, incinerating the demon Naraku and turning him to ash on the stone floor of the castle.

Midoriko stood, and, shaky, made her way to the demon, who caught her as she fell before him, holding her tightly in his lap, his steaming sword embedded point-first in the stone floor, forgotten by his side.

"Shirae, my darling," Midoriko breathed, and Kagome gasped. _Were they all reincarnations of their ancestors?  
_

"Midoriko, hold on, I've got you now, nothing will happen to you." Kagome could see the tears in his eyes, and her heart went out to the couple who were so much in love.

"The sealing spell has drained me of my spiritual power. I'm not long for this world..."

"I will not leave you, my love," he gritted, holding her to his chest. She smiled, and removed his hand from his sword, a second one in his waist sash that Kagome had not noticed until now.

"It won't work, Shirae, you've already used Tensaiga on me once, it will not revive me a second time, you know that."  
"

I don't care, I will try it anyway," he sniffed, though he removed his hand from the hilt.

She smiled at him, and coughed, a tiny trickle of blood seeping from her lips. "Take care of my girls, Shirae. They need you now more than ever. You are the Guardian - remarry, and have many sons, so that my daughters may never have to fight evil alone. We are destined to replay this role over and over again, my love. I look forward to meeting you in my next life."

"I will search for you everyday, darling. I love you."

"And I, you."

Kagome felt her tears spill over and slide down her cheeks, soaking her white kimono under her armour where they landed.

The demon held the priestess to him as she died, and picking her up, carried her body out of the castle, and over the hill, out of Kagome's view.

Suddenly, her world became black, and she felt weightless, as if she were floating in space.

"What? What happened?" she said out loud, and a voice, gentle and feminine, answered her.

"Nothing has happened to you, Kagome, my great-great granddaughter, my blood…my reincarnation. You are about to embark on the battle of your life, and I made you have this vision to prepare you for what lies ahead."

Kagome felt fear wrap its icy cold hand around her heart and squeeze at the reminder of her future.

"What should I do? I'm so afraid, grandmother..."

"Do not be afraid, child. You have the power, you control the Jewel. At your touch, it will become pure once again, and all the years Naraku's family has held it will not matter, for all the accumulated evil will be washed away. You are its Master, Kagome; you cannot be controlled by it. He will try to get it back from you, and he will try to get you to call out its name. Do not call it out, for if he can get it away from you after that, all my work and those of your ancestors after me will be for naught, child. Do you understand?"

"Yes, grandmother, I understand. I'm just so afraid."

"You will do fine, Kagome. I have faith in you, as does Sesshoumaru; he is counting on you. He is Guardian to your Priestess; do not let him down, child."

"I won't, grandmother, I promise!"

"Then go forth and retrieve the _Shikon no Tama_, it is your destiny to protect it, and his destiny to protect you. Work together, and there will be no foe you cannot defeat!"

_**oOo**_

Kagome blinked. Looking around, she saw her hand gripping the knob of Room Ten so tightly that it had turned white, and her chest heaved from the fast pace of her racing heart. She looked down, and was almost disappointed to see black leather instead of a red skirt and beautifully-tooled armour, made to fit her and her alone. She experienced one last flash of a demon Shirae, before her Sesshoumaru flashed before her eyes, and hardened her resolve to do this thing right.

Preparing herself with a deep breath, she arranged her features in her most attractive pose and turned the cold knob, stepping into the darkness and closing the door quietly behind her.

**S.T.**

Intense, huh? I know, so was writing it! A few quick notes: Forgive my assumptions about the cars and jumping batteries. I've never had to do that before, and it has been so long since I've seen it done, I have no idea what I'm talking about, I was just making it up. Second, I know Miss Conduct is not an original name, but hey, gimme a break, it's all I could come up with, a new name means thinking, and I have to think about this story, not a freakin' stage name. Lastly, I would like to clarify Midoriko and Shirae's relationship: they were not married, and Midoriko's daughters are from a previous marriage. He was not their Step-Father or Father, cuz that would screw up their ties, cuz they'd be related...I think. Ewww. Okay, that just about covers it. You know what to do...


	14. Chapter 14

Alrighty then! I'm so pleased with the amount of reviews, I'm ecstatic! Yeah! Well, my beloved readers, when I get my laptop, and my printer/scanner, I will post some artwork of mine on MySpace, which I should probably set up but have been too lazy. However, I can also take pics with my phone, so, hopefully, I'll get some good ones and put them up. They'll be better when I can scan them, heehee! Soooo excited!! I wanna know what everyone thinks of them, and if you want me to do a character for you, or an original character, just mail me a description and I'll whip one up for ya! Kudos!Yay for characters in the Modern era!

Deds:

**dancingwindforever** - Sorry I didn't answer you sooner, the bot was being such a bitch! lol, I'm happy that you're so enthusiastic, and I hope I don't disappoint with this chapter!

**Kitsune's Lover** - Thank God, I thought you'd run away! Yay! Jen's back! woot! Unfortunately, Rachel's cat seems to love me, and she'd murder me if I put Sass in a bag...and tried to kill him...hehe, oops...anyway, he slept on my chest last night - not fun! God he purrs loud! I swear if his ass had been in my face it would have been the wall for him! P.S. I can hear her neighbours having sex at night, it's so hard to fall asleep to that...ewww...gag me with ruffage!!!!

**cookiemonsterks** - I think I'm remiss in answering these...anyway, it's gonna get even hotter! Muahahahahaha (tents fingers). (It was a watch, a nice one, lol)

**anime-lover-forever2007** - Ok, Karen, I'll see what I can do. You may make an appearance...as an innocent bystander...or a Fed. I dunno! Just look for yer name, I guess ;)

**Mystical Hanyou** - Hehehee, she's got a plan, she's super uber sneaky!

**Sweet Temptation**

Inuyasha laid on the gas, and passed another car. From the back, Sango growled, "Arg, we should have taken the _Go-Train_! This traffic is ridiculous! We'll never get there in time!"

"Shut up shut up shut up!" he yelled, braking hard as someone pulled in front to pass. "I can't do this while you're all yammering away back there!"

Miroku leaned past Kikyou in the front seat and said, "Pull over, Inuyasha."

"Huh? Why?" he asked, thinking Miroku was nuts. "No!"

"I don't think Dad will appreciate the fine you're going to get when the cop behind us finally manages to pull you over, and he'll be even less impressed if he hears you caused a thirty-car pile-up because you tried to outrun him."

Looking in his mirror, Inuyasha smacked his forehead and groaned, muttering, "Fuck it!" as he pulled onto the shoulder of the Expressway to Downtown Tokyo.

Kikyou sat back hard in her seat and murmured, "Tonight is not going to be fun at all. If I were superstitious, I'd think someone was conspiring to keep us away from that strip club."

Everyone fell silent as they pondered her statement, and jumped when the officer rapped on Inuyasha's window.

Rolling it down, Inuyasha was about to explain himself when the officer asked, "Do you know how fast you were going, son?"

"Umm," he shrugged, and the officer shone his flashlight in all their faces, one by one.

"Have any of you been drinking?"

"No sir, we're minors, we don't drink, but we are in a hurry. Could you-"

"Step out of the car please, son."

Gripping the steering wheel as if his anger alone could lend him the strength to rip it from its column, Inuyasha steamed inwardly as he got out of the car and towered over the officer, who looked at him skeptically over his aviators.

"Follow me please."

Doing as he was told, the officer led Inuyasha to his car, where he proceeded to give him a breathalizer. When it came up normal, he made him stand on one foot and touch his nose with his left hand for two minutes.

"Are you satisfied _yet_?"

"Don't get lippy, boy. You were speeding and I could bust your ass, but I got better things to do. It's a warning this time, but I catch you again, and I'm fining your ass for the full amount, savvy?"

"Yes, sir," Inuyasha gritted from between clenched teeth, and ripping the warning from the officer's hand, he jogged back to the car and took off, at a reasonable speed, until they had turned a curve in the Expressway and were no longer in sight of the cruiser.

"Let's blow this popsickle stand and get to that fucking club!" he growled, ramming his sneaker on the gas and getting off at the next exit.

**S.T.**

Naraku stared at the screen for a long while after Kagome's show. She had been magnificent, and she had given him a really good idea. He would have her co-operation, and she would have no choice but to comply.

Picking up the phone, he dialled Kagura's cell phone and told her to bring Sesshoumaru back to the club; he had a plan.

Hanging up, he zipped up his pants and went to the minibar, filled his empty glass with ice, and fifteen minutes later, the staff entrance to his room opened, and Kagura brought Sesshoumaru in, the limo driver having tied him up when he'd gotten into the car at the police station.

If looks could kill, Sesshoumaru would have melted Naraku on the spot, but Naraku only smiled at him.

"Well, well, well," he drawled, sipping his glass of champagne and gesturing for Kagura to leave. She frowned, but closed the door behind her on her way out.

"If it isn't Sesshoumaru Taisho, my new employee manager. Bet you didn't think I'd outsmart you tonight, did you?"

Sesshoumaru said nothing, the gag in his mouth prohibiting any speech he may have tried to make.

"Well, no loss. You can still keep your job, I suppose. After all, you're going to need money if you're going to be dating my daughter. She has expensive taste; gets it from her Mother."

Still Sesshoumaru made no response, only continued to glare.

Naraku strode back to his chair, and set his glass on a coaster next to the phone.

To the driver, he ordered, "Tie him to the chair."

Dragging Sesshoumaru by his arms, the limo driver tied Sesshoumaru's hands and feet to a chair just behind the door, it the darkest corner of the room, where he would go unnoticed. When he was done, Naraku nodded, and the driver pulled a Magnum from his breast pocket and rested it gently but firmly against Sesshoumaru's temple.

This elicited a growl from him, and Naraku smirked. Sipping the last of his champagne, he said, "Your girlfriend is on her way up here. I've requested her presence for a private show; you will watch your girlfriend give me a lap dance, and then I will present her with the Jewel, and if she refuses to do as I ask, I will make known to her your presence. So no noise from you, or Hakudoushi there will blow your brains out. Do you understand?"

Sesshoumaru gurgled angrily, and Naraku laughed. The sound of heels coming down the hall was becoming louder, and Naraku put a finger to his mouth and said, "Shh, now. Don't spoil her show."

Running a hand through his freshly shorn hair, he thought, _God, I had such great hair, shouldn't have hacked it off_.

The doorknob began to turn and Naraku stood, preparing to welcome his guest.

Sesshoumaru strained in his chair, and Hakudoushi rapped him warningly on his temple, causing a starburst of pain to knife through his brain, receding slowly in short bursts as he regained himself. When he did, he saw Kagome standing in the room, ten feet away from Naraku, exuding confidence as if she had absolutely nothing to fear.

_Don't let the mask fall, Kags_, he begged her in his mind, and he prayed to God that she could keep up her façade for as long as it took to get the Jewel in her possession.

**S.T.**

Kagome closed the door softly behind her, and flicked her hair away from her face. Standing before her in the semi-darkness of Room Ten, stood who she assumed to be Naraku Onigumo, the insolent ass who'd sent her two vases of roses. She found it difficult, though, to have any distaste for his appearance.

Tall, dark, and handsome, with close-cropped hair which he kept running a hand through, she felt a flicker of carnal desire deep within, but she suppressed it before it could flare into the flames of pure lust. She was here to do a job; she would do it and leave. She was obligated no further than that.

Naraku held a fresh glass of champagne out to her, which she silently declined, and he remarked, "Don't drink?"

She smiled a little, hoping the nervous butterflies in her stomach weren't somehow given away by her facial expressions.

"Not before a dance," she drawled, and handed him the card he's put in her roses.

Raising a brow, he took it, and flipped it over, reading the six words scrawled on the back in her loopy handwriting. Smiling, he walked over to the wall, where a large audio display was mounted, with massive speakers flanking it on either side.

Kagome folded her arms and tried hard to look confident as she watched him punch in her song selection. Picking up the remote, she sauntered over to him, and led him by the hand to a long table at the back of the room, parallel to the door. Sitting him at the head, she walked to the opposite end, and, pointing the remote at the display, turned her back to him and threw it onto the black recliner next to her.

Sesshoumaru watched in stony silence. Next to him, Hakudoushi no longer pointed the gun at his head, but every once in a while he could feel the tip of it brush his hair as the chauffeur/hired goon adjusted his position against the wall.

The music came on, and the lights dimmed even more; the stereo also controlled the brightness of the light according to the genre of the music. Naraku smiled in anticipation. He never had been one to pass up a good time, even if serious business was pending at hand. For her, the Jewel could wait.

The first strains of "How Soon Is Now" by The Smiths filled the room, getting louder and louder. Kagome moved her left leg to the beat, her hand slowly making its way up that same thigh, past her hip to brush past a breast. Naraku leaned back in his chair and watched, his red eyes never leaving her.

Kagome spun, and grabbed the chair at her end, putting one booted foot on it as she ran both hands through her hair, and, picking up a nearby champagne bottle, tossed it to him, and he deftly caught it, setting it in front of him on the table.

Putting both hands on the tabletop, she began to crawl toward him, her lips in a pout, painted deep red so they looked like a bloody wound. Her black leather outfit became smaller and smaller as she approached him, and when she was halfway across the table, she looked up at him seductively, and just by the look on his face, she could tell he was getting hot, so she rolled over on her back and, sucking her finger, drew it down her chin and over her neck between her breasts, which were barely covered by her top.

Rolling back over, she pulled herself slowly the rest of the way, and, sitting with her legs sprawled, leaving nothing to his imagination, she popped the cork in the champagne, and let it spray up, covering her in tiny droplets, and she leaned over him, enticing him to lick them off of her skin, which, after a moment, he did, grabbing the back of her neck and holding her still, and she let him, but not for long.

Having removed both boots by now, she stood and placed her toe at his chin. Tipping the bottle a bit, she let a small stream of it trickle down her leg to pool in his slightly open mouth, before putting the bottle down and grasping the armrests on his chair, she pushed him away from the table, and crawled into his lap.

Sesshoumaru watched it all with a jaundiced eye; her actions looked sensual, and he couldn't stop the rise of jealousy within him, but he knew she was just doing her job, that she was in no way feeling anything at all for the asshole whose lap she was sitting in.  
He was largely right; for the most part, Kagome felt a deep repulsion for the man before her, but really deep down, in a place she didn't want to admit existed within her, was a small desire for him.

She thought it was there likely because he was the exact opposite of Sesshoumaru; one light, one dark, one loving, the other manipulating. There was just something about him that stopped her from hating him, but there was nothing that couldn't make her not dislike him. She licked his neck now as he began to touch her. Slowly, and almost timidly, he put his hands on her, until she grew weary of his hesitation and placed his hands where she knew he wanted them to be, and was reminded of his repulsiveness as he squeezed her too hard, but desisted after a moment when she whimpered her displeasure.

He wanted her to think he was uncertain, as if he had never done this before; and, in gaining her pity, he might gain her trust, as well, for he would need it momentarily, and if he lost it, then and only then would he bring to light his leverage against her.

Kagome began to grow frustrated with his shyness. He seemed to her like a man who always knew exactly what he wanted and when he wanted it, and she couldn't help but smell a rat at his actions, but decided to see where he was going to take her. As long as she pretended to remain ignorant, Amaya had said, the better her chances at getting away unharmed, so she went against all her instincts to flee and rubbed herself intimately against him.

At this point, Sesshoumaru had had enough, but every time he shut his eyes, Hakudoushi nudged him none-too-gently with his damn handgun. Growling quietly, he kept them open, but could do nothing but glare at that disgusting bastard putting his hands all over his woman. He no longer cared to hide the knowledge away from himself; he was insanely jealous, and it was killing him to be unable to do nothing to stop it. He wanted her to do that to him, and he was sure she would, if he asked her. _After all, she loved him, right?  
_

_Of course she does_, he told himself scathingly, offended that he would doubt her loyalty for even a second, but the scene before him was really making it difficult for him to hush the seeds of doubt in the back of his mind, because she really looked like she was enjoying herself.

_She better just be a good actress_, he thought, but knew he would never hurt her. She knew how important their situation was, and he forced himself to have faith in her performance, and that it was all a farce, nowhere as real as it looked.

Naraku was starting to lose himself in her. As she became more demanding of him, he wondered if she was going to let him go all the way. _They didn't do that at strip clubs, did they?_ He doubted it, but he wasn't going to stop until she wanted him to.

Kagome was ready to throw up. The longer she maintained contact with him, the sicker she felt. The little seed of lust had died as soon as she'd gotten a good look at his eyes. Red, with a white, lifeless iris, they were the eyes of a killer, of a master manipulater, of a cold-blooded monster.

Flashes from her vision reappeared before her eyes, and, turning up the charm to further gain his trust, despite her urge to gag, she took his lips in hers and kissed him deeper than either of them had kissed another before, and when she pulled away, she revelled in the sincere look of glazed satisfaction printed on his face, and she rejoiced in the look of mastery on his as the thought of his enchanting her washed over him.

_Fool_, she thought, turning up the wattage of her smile slightly, _you'll never know what I know until it's too late_.

For his part, Naraku was thinking, _Soon, my dear, you will be mine, and together_… _we will rule this world_.

Sitting back on the table, relaxed, her legs casually folded beneath her, Kagome asked, "Did you like it?"

Leaning back in his chair, not even bothering to hide the slight bulge in his pants, he replied, "Very much so. Your reputation precedes you. I'm impressed, _Miss Conduct_."

She smiled, self-deprecatingly. "Thanks."

Laying the wad of twenties on the table beside her, he said, "Before you go, I have something I think will interest you."

_Here it comes,_ she thought, the moment of truth. _God help me_…

Scooping up the money, she put her boots back on as he strolled to a safe in the wall, and, unlocking it, returned to her side bearing a small pink velvet box as she pocketed the money.

"For me?" she asked, making no move to take it from him. "Gifts aren't usually a part of a private performance, Mr. Onigumo."

"I am well aware of that, _Miss Conduct_, but please, call me Naraku. May I ask what your real name is? Certainly not _Miss Conduct_?"

It was against the club's Privacy and Discretion Agreement for performers to give away their real names, but in this case, Kagome made an exception. He knew her name anyway, what was the point of keeping it from him now? It would only make him suspicious if she didn't.

She laughed, and shook her head. "It's Kagome. Kagome Higurashi."

He frowned, then, visibly brightened. "Higurashi, you say? Do you live three doors down from me?"

She had to tread carefully here. _Did he know where she lived?_ She wasn't sure, and from his corner, Sesshoumaru immediately picked up on the implications a wrong answer on her part could do to their plan. Closing his eyes briefly, he prayed that she said the right thing.

Floundering, she decided to just go for it, and deal with the consequences as they came, and replied, almost too late to be believable, "Yeah, I do. Your daughter is my sister's best friend."

"Really? I had no idea," he replied, though he'd known all along. She really did appear to be clueless as to his purpose for her. _Excellent_, he thought, mentally tenting his fingers. "Maybe one day we will meet outside of our…business dealings, perhaps?"

She smiled at his discreet glossing-over of her performance just now, and responded non-commitally, "Perhaps."

Flashing her his most devastating grin, he slid the box across the table toward her.

Picking it up, she slowly unwrapped the ribbon, and pried open the box.

There, nestled inside in a fitted velvet mould, sat the Jewel of Four Souls, the _Shikon no Tama_.

Kagome felt the power of it even in its dormancy; never had she experienced a similar feeling, but she did her best to hide it from him.

On his part, he eagerly watched her for her reaction, and was pleased to see surprise register in her eyes, and a small smile of pleasure alight her lips. Just as he thought, she was ignorant of the abilities inherent to the small trinket she held in the box in her hand. All he had to do now was nonchalantly find a way to get her to say its name aloud.

_Piece of cake_.

Taking a big risk, as Kagome was aware, she removed the Jewel from its case and rolled it around in her palm. She felt her hand grow warm as she held it, and thought she noticed a faint glow emitting from it, but quickly set it back in its box, shutting the lid before he could open his mouth in an attempt to speak with her about it.

"Thank you, it's beautiful."

"It is, isn't it? It's called the _Shikon no Tama_, or Jewel of Four Souls." He paused here, hoping she would repeat the name back to him in question of its heritage, but she remained silent, staring back at him with a little grin on her face as if she couldn't believe he'd just given her a pink ball, useless other than as a piece of jewellery.

Growling inwardly, he tried again.

Sesshoumaru's insane jealousy had died away with Naraku's gift of the Jewel to Kagome; it appeared things were not going as smoothly as he'd planned. He grinned in satisfaction as Naraku droned on and on about the Jewel, while Kagome looked bored and disinterested, refusing, in her ignorance, to repeat the name of the Jewel back to him.

When she got up to leave, he grabbed her hand and yanked her close, growling, "Listen you little slut. Say the name of the Jewel!"

Pretending to be insulted, she tried to pull her arm away and retorted, "Excuse me, Mr. Onigumo, but why does that matter? It's only a trinket, and besides, it's mine. I'll do with it as I please! _You_ gave it to _me_!"

Naraku was beginning to get desperate. He knew something she did not; once in her possession, he could not forcefully take the Jewel back. She had to give it back to him, and, since she was being so difficult and would not remove the curse on the bauble by calling it's name, he decided that now was the time to pull out the big guns.

Sesshoumaru, on his part, had been slowly trying to undo Hakudoushi's pathetic knots, and had moments ago managed to free himself, much to the unawareness of the man hired to watch him, who was too engrossed in what was going on with the hot chick and his boss to pay much attention to his hostage.

Waiting for the opportune moment, Sesshoumaru had pretended to still be powerless, but his opportunity had just presented itself.

As Naraku grabbed Kagome's hair and roughly pulled her toward him, making her yowl in pain, Sesshoumaru jumped up, knocking his chair away, and as Hakudoushi turned to look at him Sesshoumaru nailed him in the face, hard enough to shatter his sinuses, and Hakudoushi landed unconscious on the floor, his face a bloody mess.

Grabbing up the Magnum, Sesshoumaru ripped the tape off his own mouth without flinching and barked, "Let her go, Naraku!"

Frowning dangerously, Naraku had to admit defeat, for now. They could not hide from him for long.

Releasing Kagome's hair from his grasp, she ran to Sesshoumaru, who still kept the gun pointed at Naraku as she clung to him, whimpering, "Oh, Sesshoumaru, are you hurt? Oh, sweetheart!" He felt mildly embarrassed at her coddling, but he swelled with pride as Naraku's glower grew darker. So, Sesshoumaru still conspired to be with her, did he? _Kagura_, he thought, _you have the worst taste in men_. _I refuse to let you associate with him any longer_. _He is **dead**_.

Herding Kagome toward the door, he opened it, and Naraku said, calmly, and quite menacingly at the same time, "You can't go far, Sesshoumaru. I know where your family lives, and I know that your Mother has returned. How long do you think it will take for me to arrange their untimely demise?"

"You fucking bastard," he growled, Kagome at his side, glaring back at him with hatred upon hearing his threat. "You touch a hair on their heads and I'll rip your living heart out and jam it down your fucking throat!"

"Oh? Well, how about the girl, then?" he gestured toward Kagome. "Would the death of her sisters be more suitable for you?"

"Touch them," he gritted, "and I'll let you live. As a quadriplegic at the Psych Ward, where you belong, you asshole! Fuck you and fuck your warped daughter!"

With those parting words, Sesshoumaru led Kagome down the hall at a dead run, passing Jaken and the Security Officer, who looked at each other in surprise.

Stopping him, Kagome pulled him back to a worried-looking Jaken.

"Jak, can you do me a huge favour?"

"You name it babe, and it's done."

She smiled a little, for him, but it soon faded with her worry. "Will you call my sister and tell her to stay away from home? We really have to leave."

"You got it." She pecked him on the cheek in gratitude, and gave him Sango's cell number.

"Thank you so much," she panted, before Sesshoumaru whisked her away.

Looking down at the paper in his hand, Jaken picked up the phone and dialled the number, only to get a busy signal. Chewing his lip, he tried again.

**S.T.**

Ohhhh, suspenseful! Okay dudes, I may not post for a few days, I'm catching up to myself again, so I promise to get hard at work on this, so I can post again. I'm flying by the seat of my pants here, I hope this all pans out, and I don't screw it up. I've written so much, it's hard to keep track of events so far, but for you guys, I'll give it my best shot! You know what to do!


	15. Chapter 15

Oh, my God, you guys! I'm _sooo_ sorry I haven't updated for so long! I've been terrible! I got my new laptop, and I keep telling myself I have to sit down and finish this thing, and then I get busy, or forget my idea, or gotta work...sigh, just too much shit going on, plus I'm trying to upload an account at for myself, under the name SessysGirlfriend, lol, what a knee slapper! But it all takes time, and this is all I've got so far, so please, again, forgive me if I take a while, I promise to get my ass on the ball, or I'm not a good writer!!!

Deds:

**anime-lover-forever2007** - Wow, good thing I answer these, I almost forgot to add you to the story! I'll get on that now.

**Kitsune's Lover** - Well, Sass still stinks, but at least Rach is more involved with my work now. I've been drawing my characters from this story, and she's been colouring them, and I'm gonna post them, so check em out man! lol, her neighbours were fighting the other day...walls shaking...lights swinging...yelling...screaming...it was fun. I've been banned from colouring. As it turns out, I am colour-scheme retarded. Go figure.

**Sweet Temptation**

Naraku stared at the open door, still opening slowly on silent hinges. How had his plan gone so wrong? He threw his suit jacket over his shoulder, and inspiration hit him.

_That bitch already knew_. _She'd known all along_.

Clenching his fists, he walked over to Hakudoushi and kicked his gut, eliciting an "Oof!" from him as he rolled into the wall.

"Get up!" he barked, making to kick him again when he didn't move fast enough. "Let's go. We have work to do."

Taking the back way that led directly outside, Naraku told Hakudoushi to take Kagura home. He would be there shortly, after he'd seen to some unfinished business.

**S.T.**

Inuyasha laid on the horn. Ten blocks from the strip club, they'd run into a traffic jam, the five o'clock rush hour. It was well past seven-thirty now, but still the cars remained locked, idling and hot in the hazy evening, lightening forking down every so often, and only a few fat drops of rain so far had done anything to cool the warm air that rose above the cars stuck on the four-lane street.

In the backseat, Kouga elbowed Sango, and, sighing listlessly, she tried to make room to accommodate him. His legs were long, and he'd kept them bent for the last twenty minutes. She couldn't blame him for being uncomfortable. She herself felt soaked from sweat, and both her sisters tried vainly to fan themselves with their hands, but all they succeeded in doing was making their wrists sore.

The air conditioning had worked fine up until the jump; something had happened in the engine, and now all they got was hot air, so Inuyasha had turned the whole thing off, and rolled down all the windows, hoping to catch a breeze, but so far had felt none, only the sprinkle of warm rain on his forearm as it hung lazily out his window.

Suddenly, a buzzing was heard from the backseat, and Sango reached into her purse, and pulled out her cell phone.

Flipping it open, she answered, "Yo speak."

The voice on the other end was her friend Yuka, wanting to know why she hadn't called her back, and she ranted on and on as Sango tried to explain why she couldn't talk right now in case Kagome tried to phone her, but after listening to her for ten minutes and unable to get a word in, she'd simply hung up.

Ayame looked at her, and breathed, "Thank you."

Kouga smiled; he, too, was ready to throw Sango's phone out the window, had they not needed it.

A moment later, her phone rang again. Everyone in the car groaned, but Inuyasha toed the gas and moved ahead two metres before putting the Hatchback in park again.

Flipping open the phone, Sango said, "Yuka, if this is you, I'll-" but was silent after that. She frowned, then asked, "Who is this?"

After another pause, she said, "Why not?" Only hearing her end, Kikyou looked at Inuyasha. _Who was she talking to?  
_

"Okay. Thanks a lot. Bye." Flipping her phone shut, Sango said, "Some guy who knows Kags at the club says that we shouldn't go home, and that Kags and Sesshoumaru just left."

"Why not?" Inuyasha demanded. "Are you telling me we went through all this for nothing?"

"Basically, yes," she replied, "but he sounded really worried. I think we should-"

Sango's phone rang again, cutting her off.

"Hello?"

"Sango? It's Daichi. Where are you?"

"Stuck in traffic. Why?"

Daichi sighed in relief. His phone call from Sesshoumaru had had Amaya on her cell quicker than he could spit, informing the Feds who were now on their way.

"Stay there," he warned her. "Sesshoumaru's bringing Kagome home, then we're going up to the cottage. Meet us there. Call if anything at all goes wrong. Your sister got the Jewel and now Naraku has threatened to kill us all. We have to hide, until the Feds can get this situation under control."

"Okay, we'll meet you there. We can't move yet anyway."

"Well? Who was it this time?" Kouga asked.

"Your Father. Inuyasha, get off at the next side-street. We're going to your cottage."

**S.T.**

Kagura folded her arms and sat down hard in the back of the leather-upholstered limo. She was angry, and, even though she hadn't wanted to see Kagome's dance, she hadn't wanted to be separated from Sesshoumaru, either. She breathed out through her nose sharply, and sighed quickly.

If it wasn't one thing with her Father, it was another. She hated to be dismissed like that, and in front of Sesshoumaru, too, though she doubted that he'd cared. He'd been silent the whole ride, not even asking where they were going. She'd tried to keep the mood light, and it had been difficult to get him to look at her when he had decided that he was going to look away.

She'd fallen asleep in the limo while she waited, and when Hakudoushi opened and closed the driver side door, she felt the car rock and her eyes flickered open. Pressing the partition button down, she gasped when she saw his face in the rear-view mirror.

Looking up at her and wiping his face on his jacket sleeve, he said nothing about his broken nose and just pulled away, heading for home.

Holding her hand over her mouth in shock, Kagura wondered if Sesshoumaru had done that, then she wondered if her Father had done it - and if he had, her respect for him jumped a mile high. She made a mental note never to piss him off in the future if that was the consequence. Of course, if it were Sesshoumaru, maybe he was better off with Kagome; he could break _her _nose instead.

Silence fell between driver and passenger, and after a moment Hakudoushi rolled up the partition.

Kagura sighed again and looked out the window, seeds of doubt about her desire for Sesshoumaru sprouting in her mind. She had been unsuccessful in winning his love the clean way; apparently she didn't compare in sweetness and personality to Kikyou's sister in his eyes, and when quiet sweetness hadn't worked, she'd tried blackmail, and when that too, failed, she began to review her options. _Did she really want to force someone to love her?  
_

Her Father had guaranteed her that he would come around, given the right persuasion, but she was ready to drop it. After all, what point is there in a forced relationship? The hatred would only grow, and become something ugly and deformed. Very rare was the chance he would just come around.

Propping up her chin with her left palm, her elbow resting on her knee, she sighed.

Suddenly the phone rang, scaring the crap out of her, and when she picked it up, she dropped it on the floor, before finally grasping it firmly and answering, "Hello?", she took a deep breath, anticipating her Father to be on the other end.

Her intuition was right on the mark.

"Kagura, there's been a change in plans."

She breathed quietly. "I know, Daddy. It doesn't matter anymore. If he doesn't want me-"

"That's not what I'm talking about. That bitch sister of your friend has something of mine, and I want it back. Call her, and find out where she is."

She frowned. _He had given up already?_ Somehow she wasn't too disappointed.

"Kikyou doesn't have a cell phone."

_But Sango does_.

Naraku sighed in exasperation, and hung up without bidding his daughter good-bye.

Kagura looked at the phone in her hand, and pictured her Father in her mind's eye. She shuddered at the sight, and decided to call Sango, and maybe, just maybe, she would warn them this time, instead of going against them. She was beginning to see just what a criminal her Father was turning out to be.

Hanging the receiver up, she looked out the tinted window again as the car came to a stop at a red light, and there, standing on the corner, waiting for the Walk sign, were Shippo and Rin.

Thinking fast, Kagura slid across the seat and rolled down the window, not at all sure she could trust Hakudoshi enough to ask him to pull over for them, and hissed, "Shippo! Rin!"

Looking over, they both cast her a wary and disgusted look, but she sighed exasperatedly and said, "I'm not after Sesshoumaru anymore, he doesn't want me, okay? I give up. But my Father is planning to do something terrible to him and Kagome, and we have to stop him."

Looking at each other, they weighed the risk of going with Kagura. She sounded sincere, but then she often did when she wanted something.

"Why should we believe you?" Shippo demanded, pulling Rin to him by her shoulders and keeping her there, despite the embarrassed flush on her cheeks.

Kagura racked her brain for proof they would believe before the light turned, but could come up with none. Frustrated, she pleaded, "Please, just go with me on this! We have to stop him before it's too late for them!"

Something in her tone of voice pulled at Rin; she was sincere, she could feel it. She moved out of Shippo's grip and pulled open the limo door, and Shippo followed, with a dumbfounded look on his face.

Just before she could climb in, he pulled her back and said, "What are you doing? This girl blackmailed my brother!"

Frowning, she turned back to him over her shoulder and whispered, "I believe her, Shippo. I don't know why, I just do. Call it instinct, if you will. Are you coming or not?" and she climbed inside, and Shippo looked at the light, which turned green as soon as he looked at it.

With no more time left, he chewed his lip and jumped in, the momentum from the forward motion of the car as Hakudoushi stepped on the gas closing the door firmly behind him.

Hakudoushi was in too much pain to notice anything going on in the back. He was having a hard time fighting back unconsciousness and was glad when Kagura rolled down the partition and, warning Rin and Shippo not to make a sound, she ordered, "Pull over at that donut joint, Hakudoushi. I have to use their washroom."

Nodding, he did as she asked and she rolled up the partition, but not all the way. She'd seen the blood gushing from his nose earlier, and he'd looked in bad shape. Sure enough, as soon as they'd stopped, he slumped forward onto the wheel and let the darkness overwhelm him. Peeking through the crack in the glass partition, Kagura smiled.

_Jackpot_.

"Come on you guys," she said, running into the donut place. As soon as they were inside, she whipped out her cell phone and dialled Sango. Rin asked, "Who are you calling?"

Kagura held out the phone to her, and replied, "You mean who _you're _calling. If your sisters are close, have them pick us up. I want to be with them to explain as best as I can what's going on. You guys have to find someplace to hide where my Father can't find you. We have to stop him."

Rin accepted the phone and put it to her ear, Shippo eyeing her protectively and watching Kagura warily. He still didn't quite trust her, but Rin seemed to believe her story, so he decided that he would be the one to keep his reservations, just in case this turned out to be a sham.

"Sango? It's Rin. Yeah. I'm calling from Kagura's cell. Because she picked Shippo and I up. Are you near the donut place on First? Yeah? Will you pick us up?"

Shippo and Kagura listened with growing tension as Rin spoke to Sango; time was too precious to waste now.

"What do you mean, not enough seatbelts? I think we can make an exception just this once! Come on… _Thank_ you! Bye."

She handed Kagura her phone and sighed, "They're coming, and they want to know why you're helping us."

Kagura smiled wanly. "Let's just say I've seen the light my Father's been standing in my entire life and it's never really pleased me. He leaves a lot to be desired as a parent, and I don't want to hurt people anymore. I'm sick of being a loner."

"Kikyou likes you."

"Yeah, and she's the only one. Look, I've learned my lesson, okay? I can't always have what I want, and I disapprove of my Father's way of getting it for me. You know, he probably wouldn't even have bothered if he hadn't had his own agenda."

Rin shook her head in pity. She'd rather have no Father than a Father like Kagura's. For the first time since meeting Kagura, Rin pitied her. Her life must have been terrible growing up with a man like that for a parent.

Shippo, too, began to see Kagura in a new light. She was turning out to be less than despicable than he'd thought after all. He still didn't trust her, but he didn't distrust her, either. She'd had it rough, and he could sympathise with and respect that.

"Look, we don't have a lot of time," she said, leading them back outside. "When they get here, we should be waiting."

**S.T.**

Ok, Shannon will now work on her story which people probably think she has abandoned (stupid christmas, distracting me like that), and hopefully, we'll make some headway here, and I'll get my stuff uploaded for all my lovlies to see! Yay! Now all I need is my own scanner and a doodle-dooflinky...and then I'll be all set! Woot!


	16. Chapter 16

Alrighty, dudes, bigger chap than normal, but hey, I owe you guys for making you wait, eh? Anyway, I got my new laptop (Eeeeeeeee!) and I love it, but I'm having difficulty pirating internet from home, so maybe I'll email this story to myself and work on it at Tango's...anyway, a new chappie, enjoy!

Deds:

**Kitsune's Lover** - Are you sure you went to MediaMiner?? It tells me I've gotten lots of hits, so I don't know what could have possibly gone wrong there...oh well, you saw them anyway, lol! Stupid Internet, won't let me pirate...

**anime-lover-forever2007** - Ok, you don't show up in this chap, but I'm thinking you might make a good FBI agent! Keep your eyes open, you might just pop up!

**cookiemonsterks **- Well, Kagura doesn't get raped, but someone she knows does, poor woman, sigh. Read on and you'll know what I'm talking about!

**Sweet Temptation**

Naraku took a back road, avoiding the Expressway and more travelled streets. Pulling over, he turned on the onboard GPS and plugged in the cord for his receiver. The screen changed, and, under a blinking red dot, showed him exactly where in the city his daughter was at that very moment.

She appeared to be at a coffee shop downtown, and, as he watched patiently, waiting for the dot to move, it did not.

A small frown began to spread over his handsome face, and once again his hand went to scratch his head unnoticed. He felt so naked without his beloved hair.

He was thinking that installing a tracking device on his daughter's cell phone was the best idea he'd had in a long time. When he'd spoken to her on the phone, she'd sounded defeated, and ready to leave their plans to the powers that be, and not him. He frowned. _Did she have so little trust in him? Did he care?_

No. She had freeloaded off him from the day her mother had left. He could admit that really, he'd had nothing to do with his daughters. Kanna, who lived in a dorm at a private school overseas and only came home in the summer, was practically self-reliant and never spent any time with him, while Kagura spent all her time lazing around the house or with her friends, if she had any besides the Higurashi girls. He really wasn't sure she had any other friends. All he knew was that looking into her face was like looking into her mother's face, and the less he saw that, the better for her. Many nights he'd lain awake in his enormous bed, thinking of creative ways to do away with his children. The housekeeper, Kaede, was a quiet woman who'd cared for the girls like their mother should have, had she not walked away on them after Kanna's birth.

Clearing the wayward thoughts from his mind and getting down to business, he opened the glove compartment of his car and, taking out all his information, set in in the ashtray and used the car's lighter to set it aflame. Then, taking a portable tracking device from a leather briefcase in the passenger seat, he turned off the car and tucked the gun he'd found under his registration papers in the breast pocket of his jacket.

Walking away from the car, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a match from his pocket and blew out the first drag of smoke as the car exploded, sending a shockwave through the ground that he barely felt, and wafting a large blast of heat in his direction. He stood watching the car burn before he made his way down the road, turning on the portable tracker.

A few minutes later, he could see a car approaching in the distance. From where he stood, a hill loomed up behind him; the oncoming driver could not see the smoke from his burning car, which flamed in a vale over the hill behind him.

As the car neared, he let the cigarette hang lazily from his lips as he gave the driver a smile and stuck his thumb in the air.

**S.T.**

Kagome still breathed heavily from her encounter with Naraku. She had not expected Sesshoumaru to be there, and, as she turned the Jewel over in her hands, she ventured a glance in his direction.

He spoke to his Father on the phone as he drove, his eyes darting here and there as rain began to pound the windshield, and she looked away, at a sunset being quickly overtaken by a massive thunderhead, lightening forking down every few minutes, lighting up the world around them before plunging it into a semi-darkness lit only by what was visible of the setting sun, glowing red on the horizon.

When he hung up, he glanced at her, but her head was still turned away. Feeling his eyes on her at last though, she quickly turned to look at him, and was surprised to see a smile on his delicate lips.

"Sesshoumaru, I'm sor-"

"Shh." He put a finger to her lips, and glanced at the road, empty and bare before him.

"You don't have to explain. I know."

She didn't know how he knew, but she was grateful all the same. She had been flabbergasted at discovering he was there in the room with her when she'd danced for Naraku, and she'd felt terrible about it this whole time. She had only been doing her job, but it wasn't the same when your boyfriend was watching you dance for your mortal enemy. She'd had no time to show her emotions then, though, for he had herded her out so fast that she'd barely had time to think, only to clutch the bauble in her hand for all she was worth, and get it to Amaya before Naraku could get it back. She remembered her vision as she stroked the pink ball, and clutched Sesshoumaru's hand, which rested high on her left thigh, his thumb stroking her sensitive skin.

Soon, they pulled into the drive at the cottage, the house lit from the inside through the boards that still covered the windows.

Turning to her, he leaned closer, only to be smothered by her lips, kissing him like it was her first time and she'd never kiss him again.

When she finally released him to breath, she buried her face in his neck and crawled across the seat to sit in his lap, her arms wound tightly around his neck, and he could feel her fear. Stroking her back, he held her tight and reassured her, "He won't get to you. I promise."

She only held him tighter as he opened the door and, carrying her, ran through the torrent of rain to the house. On the way, she whispered, "I trust you," and despite all the noise around him, he heard her, and his heart soared.

**S.T.**

Daichi and Amaya were waiting for them. They had one light on, the living room lamp, and a fire going in the fireplace. The door to the basement was ajar, and a cool draft wafted up from down below, making Kagome shiver in her wet clothes.

Amaya took one look at Kagome and grabbed her hand. "Come on, let's get you dried up, honey."

Kagome had forgotten that all she was wearing was her black leather stripper suit, and when she looked back at Sesshoumaru and his Father, Daichi's mouth was hanging open as Sesshoumaru smacked his back to get his attention.

When they reached the second floor, Amaya stopped abruptly and whispered, "Did you get it?"

Kagome smiled for the first time in hours and dug into her purse, pulling out the little velvet box, and placed it in Amaya's hand.

Ever so gently, Amaya undid the tiny clasp and pried open the box, the Jewel winking at her seductively, and she quickly closed it, and put in back into Kagome's damp palm.

"Listen, you have to hold onto this. He can't take it from you unless you give it to him, do you understand? You have awakened it, it is up to you to protect it. And you must, with your life."

She nodded, suddenly wondering if she'd inadvertently bitten off more than she could chew. _If he wanted it bad enough, would he kill her for it?_ She didn't want to think about that.

Downstairs, Daichi's cell phone rang, and Sesshoumaru pulled it from his jacket pocket, and said into the mouthpiece, "This better be you, Inuyasha."

"It is. Look, we're stopping to get Rin and Shippo, and Kagura's with them, she-"

"What?"

"Look, I'll explain when we get there. Sango says Rin told her just to pick them up. I guess we'll all find out when we get there, which should be in about forty-five."

"Hurry up, and make sure you're not followed."

Hanging up, Sesshoumaru handed the phone to his Father, and Daichi smiled at him sympathetically. The tension his son was bearing was visible in the darkness beneath his eyes, and the way he seemed to have turned into an old man after only a few hours. Daichi sighed.

This was hard on all of them, but he would be damned if they didn't pull through. After all, they had each other, the Higurashi family and the Taisho family; they were one as far as he was concerned, and he would keep them that way, so help him God.

**S.T.**

Kagura tapped her foot impatiently. They had called twenty minutes ago; _what was taking Kikyou and the others so long?  
_

Rin gripped Shippo's hand as they stood outside the donut joint, rain dripping off the roof above them and splattering the ground. Kagura's toes were wet in her white leather sandals, but she paid no attention. She watched the road, and for every black car that passed without pulling in she became that much more nervous. She looked with one eye as Rin whispered something in Shippo's ear, and they both smiled.

_Was something going on between them?_ They seemed awfully close. _How old was Rin anyway?_ Kagura struggled to remember. Kikyo had told her once… twelve? _Was she twelve?_

Her head flew in their direction, but she couldn't tell without asking just how old the girl was. Shippo, she decided, could be anywhere from thirteen to eighteen, but she was positive he was younger than herself. She was just musing how grown-up he looked when to her astonishment, right there in front of her, Shippo kissed Rin, full on the mouth, and Rin let him, and, in fact, returned the gesture with equal passion, not at all unsure of what she was doing.

_Kids these days_, she thought, shaking her head and looking back to the road, a small smile on her lips. Despite their distrust of her, she felt happy for them, and wished she herself were lucky enough to have someone to kiss.

A black car pulled in, and Kagura pushed herself away from the wall, her hand reaching out and caught Rin's shoulder, who pulled herself away from Shippo faster than if she'd been burned, and asked, "Is it them?"

Kagura gave her a lop-sided grin and replied, "Yeah. Come on, we have to hurry."

She opened the back door and held it for the others before getting in herself, unconsciously prolonging the moment when she would face several angry people and explain herself to several biased ears.

_Oh well_, she thought, shrugging. _Might as well get it over with_.

**S.T.**

Naraku flew over the pavement at a hundred kilometres an hour, out-running the thunderhead that threatened to pour down all around him. The woman who had pulled over to give him a lift had not been difficult to persuade. In fact, as soon as he had pointed the gun to her face she'd given up on the spot, and he had left her there on the road, shivering and probably soaked to the bone by now.

He smiled. She had been a smoker; how fortuitous for him. Taking the cigarette that burned in the ashtray and slipping it between his thin lips, he puffed it until it was down to the filter, before spitting the butt out the window. Looking again at the hand-held tracking receiver, he frowned, his handsome face turning dark. Kagura still had not moved. _What was she doing?  
_

He debated the advisability of calling her; if she were with them, she'd not answer. Or would she? _Was she still on his side?  
_

_Probably not, that little bitch_, he thought, lighting another cigarette with one hand and steering with the other. _Just like your Mother_…

His mind flashed back to a few days after Kanna was born, when he had held her for the first time. She was a peculiar child; she appeared to be void of any of the things a baby was just full of: smiles, spit-up, bright eyes. She had had no hair when she was born, but it had grown out in a platinum blond, practically white, and her eyes were black. She never cried or whined, and she barely spoke. As early as possible, he'd sent her to the private school where she'd been going ever since. Her Mother had left after her birth, coming into his study late in the afternoon with a two-year-old Kagura by her side and Kanna in her arms, asleep.

Turning in his chair, he had glowered at them. He was on the phone; whatever they wanted would wait, and, glaring at them fiercely, he'd turned his back to them once more.

That had been his first mistake.

"Naraku!" she had barked, and when he continued to ignore her, she had shifted Kanna to one arm and with her free hand, had ripped the phone jack right out of the wall, killing the line.

Swivelling around, he came up out of the chair like a bat out of hell, and grabbed her by the throat, pulling her close.

"Do that again," he growled, "and you'll live to regret it."

Releasing her, he backed off as she rubbed her neck. Kayoko Li-Higurashi glared back at the Father of her girls, and, thrusting the baby into his arms, turned her back on him and both her daughters.

"I'm leaving you, Naraku. I have had enough of your ignoring me, beating me, and raping me. As much as our daughters mean to me, unfortunately they will be better off with you. I know you won't love them, but then, you never knew what love was. I have had enough."

Walking from the room, he had replied, "You won't do it, Kayoko. I won't let you."

She came back to the door and laughed at him, and, walking up to him, pulled a tiny revolver from her tailored jacket pocket and pointed it between his eyes.

"I can, and I _will_." She stared back at him, challenging him to contradict her, and when he made to drop Kanna, she pulled the hammer back, loading a bullet into the chamber.

"You will look after them, Naraku, like you wouldn't look after me. I hate you. Our daughters are the only thing in the world I have left to love, now that I've lost Ai. She was my only sister, Naraku, and you made her hate me. I'll never forgive you for that."

She flung her hair back over her shoulders and ran the tip of the gun down his face until she nosed his lips apart and rested the barrel on his teeth.

"Do you know what you're going to do now?"

"No."

"Yes, you do. You are going to watch me leave this house, and never come back, not until your death. Then, and only then, will I come for the girls, and I will endeavour to undo the damage you are sure to inflict upon them. Try not to blame them for my actions. I know that's hard for you, but please, do try."

Keeping the gun pointed at him, she removed it from his mouth to squat next to Kagura, whose silent tears were testimony to how little she understood what was happening between her parents.

"Kagura, baby, Mommy's going away for a while, but I will come back for you, I promise."

Hugging the little girl and dropping a kiss on top of her silky brown hair, she stood, and stroked Kanna's cheek, remarking, "You're going to have trouble with her. She's even more emotionless than you are."

Glowering he replied, "If you're so hell-bent on leaving, why not take them with you?"

She smiled wanly. "Because I have saved up only enough money for me. Besides, you wouldn't have let me take them anyway, even though you don't want them. You'd do that just to spite me. Well, I'm saving you the trouble. Goodbye, Naraku."

And with that, she was gone.

He'd watched her get into the Taxi from his study window, a deep hatred for her and their daughters festering deep within him. _Who was she to tell him he didn't know how to love?  
_He reflected now that she was right; he loved no one. He had no use for love. Only the Jewel had kept him sane these last fourteen years, and even before that it had often been his saving grace.

When he had been twenty-eight, he had met a wonderful woman at the office building where he worked; his Father owned the company and when he retired, Naraku was going to take over.

She had applied on a Thursday, and it had been raining. Her hair was damp, and her pantyhose were splattered with water from the street. He had thought her beautiful in a carnal, instinctual way, and had quickly tried to woo her upon her hiring, but she had resisted him. Kayoko Li-Higurashi was her name, he'd found out, and he had asked her out for dinner.

His entire life, Naraku had been a handsome specimen. At sixteen he had weighed two-thirty soaking wet and had been on the debate team in school. Despite his strength he had never used it; he was much more adept at manipulating people. Only when someone became difficult did he use his physical prowess as intimidation. He'd never had any problems with women, and had taken many girls on dates, often getting from them what he wanted and discarding them for someone new after only a few dates.

He had been attracted to Kayoko, true, but the fact that she had initially resisted him made him angry and determined to get her, if only to fuck her and drop her, but Kayoko proved to be more of a challenge than he anticipated.

It was shortly after his Father hired her that he told Naraku of the Jewel, and had given it to him to look after. All his life his Father had searched for the right girl to awaken its potent powers, but had been unsuccessful; now, he was passing the search onto his son.

With the Jewel now in his possession, he began to think of all the possibilities the Jewel would open up to him if only he could find the right woman, the descendent of Midoriko. He was much closer to his goal than he thought.

When, after two months of pressing her, and still being refused, Naraku decided to dig up Kayoko's history; there had to be something in her past that he could use against her to make her do as he wished, and he found it.

When she had been eighteen years old, Kayoko had had an affair with her sister's boyfriend, who was now her husband, and neither had told her about it.

He brought it up one day during lunch break, when just he and her had been in the room.

"Higurashi-san," he said, addressing her as politely as he was required, "you have quite a scandalous past, don't you."

Pouring herself coffee, Kayoko had flipped her long black hair over her shoulder and replied, "Whatever do you mean, Onigumo-san?" Her voice dripped with warning; she didn't want to discuss her private life, she never did. Her business was her own, and she couldn't help but feel a knot of anxiety in her gut at his words. He had the money and the resources to dig up anything about her that he wished. She just hoped he hadn't discovered _that_.

"To have an affair with your sister's husband, and in her own house, even."

She sighed, and lowered her head. She was not going to bother to correct him about the exact circumstances of his accusation; Ai and Jong had not been married - but they had been engaged, and living with her and their parents at home.

"What do you want, Naraku?" she asked then, admitting defeat and getting back at him by rudely calling him by his first name.

He smiled, overlooking her blunder, and approached her, wrapping an arm about her shoulders.  
"You, Kayoko-san. In my bed."

She had raised a brow. _Was that all?_ She would endure it if it meant he would leave her alone, but he didn't. As time wore on he used her more and more often, never tiring of her like he did of other women. There was something about her that drew him to her, even though he tried with all his might to avoid getting attached to her, and in his efforts, he treated her terribly.

When she became pregnant the first time, he paid for an abortion, which she had fought against every step of the way. She may have hated him but the child had nothing to do with anything as far as she was concerned, and an innocent life did not deserve to be terminated, but he had gotten his way, that time.

The second time, she had hidden her pregnancy until it was too late to abort, and when he had found out, he could not find a doctor willing to perform an abortion so late in Kayoko's pregnancy. So, he had tried to do it himself.

He had accidentally managed to push her down a flight of stairs at work, but even that hadn't worked; she'd caught herself on the railing partway down and had walked away without a scratch, but if looks could kill he would have been dead a thousand times over.

Kayoko wanted to get away; she prayed every night that something would happen to Naraku and she would be free of him, for every time she threatened to leave him he threatened to tell her sister about her affair, and Kayoko valued her sister's love and friendship too much to jeopardize that.

After a year of enduring him, she had borne Kagura and he had bought a house, and he let her live there to take care of the little girl. One day, as a gift to himself, for he could no longer endure the child's colic, he had brought Kaede home to help her, but Kayoko had lost her lustre for life. She became severely depressed after Kagura's birth and refused to eat.

She only revived when her sister, Ai, would call, and after one particular call, she emerged from her room in tears, disgustingly thin and barely alive.

Naraku, having been away for several months on a business trip, had returned to find the Mother of his daughter wasted and gross. Disgusted, he had demanded she put on weight or he would personally make her gain it, and in a few weeks she began to fill out once again, and he began to have sex with her again, even though she was unresponsive now. Before, she would have fought him tooth and nail; all their sexual encounters had been more like fights, and this had excited him, but now, she just lay there as he used her, and often cried.

When Kayoko became pregnant again, her sister had come to see her. Ai had not seen Kayoko in two years, and their meeting was tearful on both sides; Kayoko because she was overjoyed to see her sister, and Ai because her sister was a shadow of her former self, and had a little girl she'd never told Ai about.

Ai had asked her why she had stopped calling, and Kayoko admitted her situation, much to her sister's astonishment. Ai couldn't believe what Naraku was doing to her sister, and, even though Kayoko begged her not to, Ai had gone to see Naraku and give him a piece of her mind.  
She had burst through his study doors to find him sitting at his desk, his fingers intertwined and one foot up on his knee, as if he'd been expecting her.

Kayoko followed her in, but as soon as she tried to say anything Naraku would hush her. Outraged by his abuse of her only little sister, Ai launched into an angry tirade that ended with his fist clamped around her neck and her feet dangling two feet off the carpet.

"Naraku, no! Put her down, please! I'll do anything you want, just don't hurt my sister!"

He had stared at her disdainfully past her sister's light hair, her tears striking a chord somewhere deep within him. He would never admit it, for he did not recognise the emotion, but in his own twisted way, he loved her. The thought of love repulsed him; the only person he'd ever felt any emotion for had been his Father, who had pushed him into everything he'd become; CEO of the company, a rich man, a successor to the legacy his Father had failed to fulfill, but as he squeezed the wind from Ai's lungs, the Jewel in his coat pocket pulsed; both of them felt it, but Kayoko remained ignorant. He frowned, and dropped Ai, who gasped for breath in her sister's arms on the floor as he glowered down on the pair of them.

Taking the Jewel from his pocket and gripping it between his index and forefinger, he bent one knee and brought it to hover over Ai's face; it glowed a pale pink, and warmed his fingertips.  
Swinging it toward Kayoko, he watched as the pink glow faded and died, replaced by the dull metallic pink sheen of dormancy that the Jewel had exhibited when his Father had given it to him, and now when he had pulled it from his pocket.

"What is that?" Kayoko whispered, holding her sister to her chest as she rubbed her back, encouraging Ai to breath.

"It is my business. Why does this trinket glow when near your detestable sibling, but fades near you?"

He pondered this, and looked up at her again, but she refused to meet his gaze, busy with holding her unconscious sister tightly to her.

"You are not blood sisters, are you?"

Kayoko still refused to look up at him, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on her sister's full cheeks and sooty lashes, wishing with all her might that this hadn't happened and that Ai had never come to see her.

"No. I was adopted. Ai is my blood though, as far as I'm concerned, and there isn't a thing you can do to take that bond between us away."

He rubbed his chin in thought, ignoring her words as he pieced the puzzle together in his mind. The Jewel had reacted to Ai, but not Kayoko; therefore, Ai must be a descendant of Midoriko.

"Stand up."

Kayoko looked up at him through wet eyes as he replaced the Jewel in his pocket and slowly got up, pulling her sister with her, and Ai blinked, conscious once again.

Naraku had had enough of Kayoko's insolence; now was the best time to put her in her place.

"Ai, I hate to have to inform you of this, but your dear sister has been lying to you for a very long time. Kayoko, you have something to say that I think your sister should hear."

Kayoko shook inwardly with rage. _How** dare** he do this to her? He would get what he had coming to him, she swore it_.

Trembling under his watchful eye, she turned to her sister, who also glared at Naraku as if he were the most loathsome man on the face of the Earth - which wasn't too far off from the truth.

"Ai, I'm so sorry," Kayoko began, tears falling freely down her cheeks.

"For what? Kayoko, I don't understand." She tried to look into her sister's eyes, but Kayoko refused to look at her, and she gave up.

"Ai, I… I did something terrible when we were younger. I…" she faltered, and Naraku, smiling smugly, prodded, "Go on."

"I… I had an affair with Jong."

Ai was silent, and she stared in shock at Kayoko's face. _Kayoko always had been the really beautiful one_, she reflected, and a small part of her couldn't help but recognise why Jong would have been attracted to her, but the hurt that overcame her with the realisation that both her sister and her husband had kept their secret from her developed into rage, and she shook with anger as she asked, "Did you, now? Kayoko, I find that hard to believe. Tell me now that you're lying, and I will believe you."

Kayoko let out a sob and sank to her knees again on the floor, her face in her hands.

"I'm not lying, Ai…I'm so, so sorry… I never meant for it to happen-"

"Well it's a little late now, isn't it? How could you do this to me, Kayoko?" Ai's voice rose with every word that spewed from her mouth, and in her rage, she spat on her sister's back, and shrieked, "You two deserve each other! I hope you're happy that you've ruined my marriage, Kayoko! And you," she turned to Naraku, "You deserve her. She's trash. And so are you!"

Turning on her heel, Ai left the room, and Kayoko began to wail out loud, her screams and shrieks echoing throughout the house. Ai got into her car and left that day, and never came back. Kayoko sat alone on the study floor, Naraku having quickly grown tired of her whining.  
She had never felt so alone in her entire life. Even the thought of the unborn child within her could not assuage her tormented soul.

Three days after Kayoko left Naraku, his manservant, Hakudoushi, had followed her home to her new apartment in Osaka and killed her. Upon his return, Naraku had put the house up for sale and began to search for Kayoko's sister, Ai. He intended to be nearby when the truest descendent of Midoriko - her reincarnation - was born. Unknown to him, she was already four years old.

Naraku often wondered to himself why Kayoko stayed as long as she had. Perhaps she had finally seen the error of her ways and had given in; maybe she had lost all hope. He didn't know what gave her the courage to point a gun at him and walk out, but he was tired of thinking about her, and the hole he'd begrudgingly let her carve out of his heart.

Putting his nose to the grindstone, he glanced again at the tracking device and smiled lazily to himself.

Kagura was finally on the move.

**S.T.**

"What do you mean, 'you've given up on him'?" Inuyasha snarled from up front, glaring at her from the rear-view mirror. Kagura shrank down in her very cramped seat, her shoulders crushed on either side by Rin and Sango.

She sighed. She'd anticipated that they would give her a hard time, but never this hard a time.

"I mean what I said, Inuyasha." That was the third time she'd repeated that remark, and just as Inuyasha was about to launch into another tirade, Kikyou put her hand on his arm to still him, shaking her head and whispering, "That's enough."

He ground his teeth together, but made no further comment. Like Shippo, he resolved to keep a close eye on her should she decide to turn on them at the last minute.

Rin looked at her sympathetically, as did Kikyou, but she had yet to convince everyone else of her intentions. She folded her arms and discreetly rubbed away a stray tear.

Kouga sat on the other side of Sango, looking at the back of Ayame's red head. She'd moved up front to make room, and he noticed Miroku giving her some really friendly glances, and felt an unreasonable jealousy knife through him before disappearing like a puff of smoke, for all his brother did was begin a conversation, but still, he glowered at the window as if it would shatter under the pressure of his gaze.

Sango felt sympathy for Kagura as her sisters did; she just didn't have the nerve yet to admit it. She could feel the hostility rolling off the boys in waves (except Miroku; Ayame seemed to have attracted all his attention), and Kouga sat growling on Kagura's other side, but she sensed his anger lay elsewhere; namely, the same place as hers, though she would die before admitting that out loud.

"Look, my Father is up to something, alright? I don't know what he has in mind, but he's going after Sesshoumaru and Kagome. He _told_ me he was. What can I say that will convince you guys I'm telling the truth? I realise that Sesshoumaru is happy with Kagome; I can accept that now. Besides, my Father has to be stopped. I fear the Jewel has corrupted him."

_Though he's always been corrupted in my eyes_, she thought suddenly.

There was a reluctant but easy silence in the car as rain pattered the windshield and the wipers flew back and forth over the glass, flinging water away.

Kagura no longer felt like an outcast among Kikyou's sisters, and she smiled back at Sango when she grinned in her direction, after a loud _slap!_ had resounded from the front seat; apparently, Miroku had pushed Ayame's delicate sensibilities too far, and she had reminded him of himself through pain.

Kouga let out a snort and hid a smile from his brother as Inuyasha sought his reflection in the rear-view mirror.

"What's so funny, freak?"

"Fuck off. Nothing."

Inuyasha shrugged and turned his attention back to the road. He turned onto a side road with no pavement and passed a navy blue car in the dark, no one in the car noticing it as they skidded past.

**S.T.**

Ohhh, who's in the navy car? We all know, lol, I'm so obvious. I hope that scene didn't confuse anybody, I'm still trying to work it out, but keep in mind that Ai is Kagome's mother, ok? Just to keep us all on track (myself included!) I thought I should state this little detail, in case the next few chapters don't come out as simple as I hope. Review though, I'm sad that there have been so few...are you guys punishing me for taking so long to update? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!!!


	17. Chapter 17

Sorry dudes, but I have been working like a slave on this story, and there still seems to be no end in sight, but I think I may make this a two parter, so maybe I can continue, now that new events are popping up. I'm so sorry to make you wait so long, but I really was working hard, I got like, twenty pages written, so, here's to hard work!

Deds:

**Mystical Hanyou** - You're new, and sweet, too! I'm sorry to make you wait. I hope you enjoy the fruits of my labour! Thanks!

**cookiemonsterks** - Well, yes it would, lol. You'll have to keep reading and find out! Wink!

**Sweet Temptation**

Kagome came down the stairs in a white housecoat, towelling her wet hair dry. Sesshoumaru sat in front of the fire, his jacket hanging off the screen, steaming in the heat.

Sitting on the large black leather stool beside him, she nestled her way under his arm and flung one leg over his lap. Smiling, she looked up into his eyes as he grinned back down at her, before lifting her onto his lap and wrapping his arms tightly around her.

Amaya smiled at Daichi from the shadows behind them, and she took his hand to lead him away, but only succeeded in turning his back to the scene in front of the fireplace. He refused to budge, so when she tried to lead him away she was only yanked back, like a dog who'd reached the end of its tether. She wound up with one hand on his chest to brace herself, and, looking up into his eyes, she had to smile. _He was so handsome_…God, she'd missed him. Her mind flashed back to the afternoon they'd spent getting to know each other again, the day she'd come back to him. She realised now as he took her mouth gently with his that she'd only been existing since she'd left him; she hadn't begun to live again until she'd returned to his arms once more.

Kagome broke her kiss with Sesshoumaru and glanced over his shoulder. She giggled into his neck as she saw his parents kissing behind them in the dark doorway to the kitchen.

"What?" he murmured in her ear, his tongue tracing its way up to flick her earlobe. She pulled back, and, lifting her hands, she placed them on his head and made him turn it far enough to see what she'd seen. He smiled at the sight.

Turning his attention back to her, he remarked, "They have the right idea."

Grinning, she whispered in his ear, "Do you think we have time for a quickie before the others get here? If I don't live through this-"

He shook her gently. "Don't say it. You will live, Kagome. I promise!"

She smiled for him, but secretly she was still afraid for her life, and his. If he didn't make it…she didn't want to, either, but… she had to, for her sisters. She wondered when he had taken precedence in her heart over them.

Still, she would do her best to make it through, and she refused to leave him behind, no matter what might happen. She had more than herself to think about.

Quietly, so as not to disturb his parents, Sesshoumaru led her upstairs, to his room. Closing the door behind them, he reached out for her in the dark, only to touch bare skin. Her hand fumbled with his shirt buttons before, in her frustration, she simply ripped it open, buttons flying and clicking on the floor all around them. As she divested him of his clothing, he ran his hands all over her; memorizing her shape and the softness of her skin. In the back of his mind, he hoped that this encounter would result in her getting pregnant; he'd hate to leave her with nothing to love if he should not make it through the coming battle.

Kagome, too, hoped for the same thing, though she did not voice her thoughts. She consumed his mouth with hers, planting hot kisses all over him as he stood still and let her, but he could only stand so much attention before he began to steer her toward the bed, soft and warm in the cool air and thick darkness.

Laying over her, he kneed her legs apart and rested part of his weight on her, as she brought one smooth foot to slide up and down his leg, before hooking it over his backside, imprisoning him to her. Propping up her head with his arms, he lifted her neck so their lips met each other halfway, and when they parted for air, she sighed, completely content. Running her nails over his shoulder blades, he growled in his extreme pleasure. She knew just where he liked to be touched.

Determined not to let her have all the fun, he resolved to have her calling his name in five minutes or less. As he slid away from her face to leave a hot trail of saliva down her body with his tongue, he was rewarded when she called out to him after only a minute and a half.

_That's a new record_, he thought before she dug her fingernails into his scalp to hold him where he had stopped, above the dark patch that pointed the way to her most private area, and he worked her until she was moist and ready, before returning to her face to kiss her as he slid inside, in a move so smooth she barely felt him. Then, he began to move, and she locked both legs around him this time, determined to never let him withdraw from her.

As they both approached the edge, she spread her arms above her head and stretched, bringing them to his face and stroking his sweaty cheek as he panted, spent, before she kissed his forehead tenderly and held his head to her chest, running her fingers through his damp hair as his breathing slowed.

He felt his eyes grow heavy, and, wrapping his arms around her waist, he made himself comfortable atop her and whispered before sleep overtook him, "I love you, Kagome."

Grinning despite herself, she kissed the top of his head and pulled the blanket up over him, his body heat keeping her warm.

When his breathing evened out, indicating he was asleep, she whispered, "Thank you, Sesshoumaru," before she herself succumbed to the exhaustion brought on by her tense situation. She knew they couldn't sleep long, but was determined to prolong this moment as long as possible, for who knew if they'd ever get another?

**S.T.**

Daichi and Amaya watched covertly as their son led his girlfriend upstairs, thinking they'd not been spotted, but his parents only smiled at each other before going to sit hand-in-hand before the fire, waiting for the rest of their boys to show up, along with Kagome's sisters. Leaning toward her husband, Amaya whispered, "Do you think they're happy?"

Daichi chuckled. "Absolutely. I know how they feel." And he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close and pecking her temple. She smiled, and brought her free hand to rest over his heart.

"I love you, Daichi. I hated myself for leaving you."

He waited for her to finish what she had to say before he spoke.

"I missed you so much…" Turning into his chest, she began to cry, and he held her tight as she sobbed into his shirt.

Leaning down, so he was close to her ear, he whispered, "I love you more now, Amaya, than ever. I didn't realise what I had until it was gone, and I hated myself because I thought I'd done something to make you leave, and then I hated you when I couldn't think of what it had been that I'd done. I was a fool to have ever blamed you. Will you forgive me?"

She looked up at him and pulled his face to hers, replying, "I already have, honey. I won't ever leave you again."

Kissing him with all the love she could muster, Amaya thanked God that she'd married a man as loving and understanding as him, and considered herself the luckiest woman on Earth.

Daichi just held the woman he'd always loved close to his heart, her tears tearing him up inside. He hated to see her cry, even happy tears, and he wiped them away with his thumb, before kissing her tenderly, gripping her multi-coloured hair in his fist and encouraging her to do the same.

Before long they wound up on the floor, making out as if they'd not see tomorrow. Taking a breath, Daichi grinned and asked, "So, do you think we should have another?"

Propping herself up on an elbow and putting her hand to her head, Amaya smiled at him and asked, "Another what?"

"Another baby, of course."

The colour drained from her face and he laughed. Smacking him, her smile returned and she extracted her limbs from his, getting up and pulling him with her.

"As tempting as that offer is, now is not the time. Although, I am _very_ tempted."

"As you wish, my queen. We shall continue where we left off after this is all over. Don't you forget, now, either!"

Running a hand through his short, wavy white hair, she ran her other hand seductively under his shirt and replied, "Oh, I won't forget. I won't let you forget, either."

Walking away, she beckoned him to follow her into the kitchen, which he did, eagerly. _God, he was glad to have her back_.

**S.T.**

When Inuyasha pulled into the driveway, the gravel had turned to mud, and their feet sank into it as they climbed out of the car. There was no sign of life at the cottage, save for a faint glow from the living room through the boarded windows. Kikyou turned to look behind them, down the winding drive, but saw nothing past the bend about a hundred yards back, where a thick stand of pines blocked her view of the entrance to the laneway. She couldn't shake the feeling of being followed but she kept her feelings private. The others would only tell her she was worrying too much, anyway.

The rain pelted her face as she tried to make out what she hoped was the giant boulder she remembered was near the drive in the grass, but she couldn't spot it, not through the downpour. Someone grabbed her hand, and she turned to see Rin tugging her toward shelter. Inuyasha had stayed in the car, and was driving behind the house to park it in the four-car garage connected to the back of the cottage.

Letting Rin lead her, she smiled through the torrent of water at Miroku holding his jacket over Sango's head, and Kouga pulling Ayame hard toward the porch and out of the rain. Her stomach clenched; even Rin, who pulled her along, had Shippo leading her. Only she was missing her special someone, and even now she wasn't exactly sure how he felt about her. She knew indefinitely what she felt for him, but did he feel the same way? She couldn't tell with him. Inuyasha was difficult to interpret that way.

Kikyou's foot connected hard with the concrete step as her sister pulled her up, and she cried out, but no one heard her over the thunder and the pounding rain on the steel shingles above. Opening the door, Shippo locking it behind them, they shook themselves off and looked around, only a warm fire and the soft light from a lamp to greet them.

"Hello?" Miroku called, kicking off his shoes into the closet next to the door. "Mom? Dad? Sesshoumaru?"

A second later, a very dishevelled-looking Daichi emerged from the kitchen, followed by his equally dishevelled wife. The group took one look and the sisters exchanged knowing looks while the brothers moaned, "Gross! Dad, you and Mom are sick!"

Daichi and Amaya only laughed at the goofy faces of their sons. A moment later though, their Father was all business. "Alright, now that everyone is here, we're all going downstairs. Amaya?" Nodding, Amaya led the way downstairs, as everyone stowed away their shoes and jackets and followed.

Daichi stayed behind to put out the fire, then, he went upstairs, and knocked lightly on Sesshoumaru's door. Opening it a crack, he called, "Son? It's time."

Kagome stirred, and opened her eyes. "Alright, we're coming," she mumbled, and shook Sesshoumaru gently to rouse him.

"Hmmmm."

"Wake up, Adonis. It's time."

Rolling off her, he punched her arm lightly and asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

She giggled, and picked his pants up off the floor, flinging them over his head. "It means I find you insatiably sexy, and I can't get enough of you."

He smiled, replying, "I can live with that."

She smiled back, but it didn't reach her eyes. Clutching the Jewel in her palm, she felt her heart skip a beat as it warmed to her touch. Suddenly, doubt began to overtake her mind. _I can't do this. I'm not ready!_

Sesshoumaru stopped mid-way through pulling on a black sweater when he looked at her, and noticed with alarm that her chest was heaving and she appeared to be sweating.

"Kagome? What's wrong?"

Sitting next to her, he reached out to her and she turned wide eyes onto him, and he found himself startled by the absolute fear he saw there.

"I…I can't do this! I'm not powerful enough! What happens if I can't protect this thing and he gets it? What then, Sesshoumaru? He'll kill us all!"

Rubbing her arms reassuringly, he sighed. _How many times was he going to have to tell her that he wouldn't let that happen? That she wasn't alone?_

"Kagome, calm down."

Putting her hand to her throat, she tried, but failed. "I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru," she whispered brokenly. "I'm so afraid."

"I know. But I also know that you have what it takes. I believe in you, Kagome. Besides, the Feds are on the way, so we won't be lonely for long. The only problem is that we don't know when he'll strike, though I'd assume it would be tonight, what with the surveillance we'll soon be under. Besides, we still have this." He slipped the gun from his jacket pocket and forced her trembling hands to hold it, and before long, she was slowly stroking the matte black metal of the barrel with her thumb, exploring its shape with her fingers, memorising the feel of it. Surprisingly, holding the gun had calmed her quite a bit, but when she tried to give it back to him, he refused to take it.

"You keep it," he said, a ghost of a smile on his face. "You'll need it more than anybody. I want you to keep it on you." Taking her hand, he helped her dress.

Then, pulling her behind him down the dark stairs toward the basement, the intermittent flashes of lightening their only illumination, she whispered, "But I've never used a gun, Sesshoumaru. I wouldn't know how to shoot him even if I had to." He stopped, and pulled her close.

"You'll know, when the time comes. As long as the safety's off, you just point and pull." Kissing her hard before she could respond, he pushed her into the basement stairwell and closed the door behind him, barring it from the inside with a two-by-four and four nails. The only way out now was through the cellar doors out back, which were chained on the inside. He prayed that the Feds showed before Naraku did.

**S.T.**

Naraku pulled the navy car into the laneway and killed the headlights. He couldn't see anything through the rain, which pounded extra hard here on the coast, but he inched his way along before parking behind a large boulder.

Glancing again at his tracker, he was satisfied that this was where they were hiding. Unknown to them all, his daughter would be their undoing. And she would never know herself until it was too late that it was her who led him to them.

**S.T.**

Kikyou glanced around the Taisho's comfortably furnished basement.

Another fire blazed down here, but it was a gas fire, not a wood fire, and several plush chairs and one couch were arranged before it in a conversational setting.

Kagura plunked down next to Kikyou and Kikyou smiled briefly before hearing her sister and Sesshoumaru come down the stairs. Inuyasha stood against the wall across the room, watching them all. Moreover, he was watching Kagura, but he kept finding his eyes strayed often to Kikyou, to admire her angular profile against the glow from the fire.

Daichi approached the bar next to him and remarked quietly, "You're tense. What's wrong?"

Inuyasha thrust his chin in Kagura's direction and replied, "I don't trust Kagura. She's up to something."

Daichi looked for himself at the group of girls sitting all around Kagura on the couch, nervous smiles wreathing their faces in the firelight. Looking back to his son, he said, "She is?"

"Yeah, she sure as hell is!"

"Well, if she is, she's very good at hiding it. You have to admit, she looks pretty uncomfortable."

Inuyasha wasn't convinced. "She's got something up her sleeve," he snarled, crossing his arms. "I can feel it."

Daichi shook his head and opened the mini-bar, taking out several cans of coke and a beer for himself and Sesshoumaru.

Kagura squirmed between Kikyou and Sango, as the sisters talked across her quietly. Feeling a little left out, and very anxious because her Father was trying to kill her best friend's sister, she blurted, "Let's play Truth or Dare."

The room fell silent after Kagura's suggestion, and she began to curl into herself when suddenly Sango remarked, "That's not a bad idea."

"It's not?" Kouga asked.

"I agree. It's an _excellent_ idea!" Miroku seconded, rubbing the person's thigh next to him. Suddenly he stopped, and Sesshoumaru glowered at him dangerously.

He stuttered, "Uh, wh-when did you sit there?"

Kagome smacked the back of his head and giggled, "Stop hitting on my boyfriend, you lech!"

Everyone began to laugh at Miroku, who turned red and cursed his wandering hands, and soon all were gathered around the fire in a semi-circle, save Daichi and Amaya, and began to play Truth or Dare.

Leaning forward expectantly, Kikyou said, "Kagura, this was your good idea. You go first."

"Umm, okay," Kagura said, and looked at Rin.

Rin squirmed uncomfortably, and Kagura grinned evilly. "Rin, Truth or Dare?"

Rin began to turn red. Either choice was going to expose her relationship with Shippo, she knew it, but the longer she thought about her answer, the softer Kagura's expression became.

Sighing heavily, she whispered, "Truth."

Kagura smiled gently, and asked, "Do you like anybody?"

Rin smiled despite herself, and, mentally thanking Kagura for not adding _Who?_ to her question, she replied softly, "Yes."

Nodding, Kagura was satisfied, and the guys snorted. That revealed **nothing** interesting!

Turning to Miroku, Rin said, "Miroku, Truth or Dare?"

Smiling broadly and elbowing a brother on either side of him, who smacked him encouragingly, he leaned forward and stated, "Dare me."

Rin grinned, and Ayame leaned over to whisper in her ear. Her smile became absolutely evil as Ayame moved away and she turned to give him her attention once again. "I dare you to French-kiss Sango."

Sango shot forward and cried "WHAT?"

Everyone began to laugh. Before Sango could even think about trying to find an escape, Miroku crawled into her lap and, using one hand to hold the back of her head and the other to support himself, kissed her mouth. At first she struggled, but soon she relaxed into the kiss and her sisters looked at each other knowingly, while the brothers' jaws hung open in awe.

Kouga was thinking, _I wish I had that kind of audacity_ as he sneaked a glance at Ayame, who looked back at him with a sly look on her face. His brow went up, and she licked her teeth before ignoring him as before. A sudden heat flooded his veins.

Inuyasha grinned and elbowed Sesshoumaru who pushed him away, and Inuyasha stuck out his tongue, but Sesshoumaru was quick and he nabbed it between his thumb and forefinger and yelled, "Ha! Thought you could get away with that, didn't you!"

Kagome leaned forward to see what was going on, and she burst out laughing at the comical sight of Inuyasha struggling to smack Sesshoumaru in an effort to get his tongue back, while Sesshoumaru dodged his blows gracefully.

She felt better than she had all day. Her sisters and friends had managed to make her forget her problems, and for that, she was grateful.

Crawling back to his place, Miroku smacked his lips and massaged the red handprint on his left cheek, while Sango fumed. Turning to Shippo, he smiled, "Truth or Dare, little brother?"

Mocking him, Shippo answered unwisely, "Dare me."

Miroku laughed, and, consulting with Kouga, asked, "Who was the last girl you made out with?"

Shippo turned tomato-red and hesitated. Looking at Rin helplessly, he threw in the towel. His brother was evil and unrelenting and would _pay_!

"Rin."

He said it so quietly that Miroku asked, "What?"

"Rin, I said!"

Kagome burst out laughing, before realisation hit her and she screamed, "WHAT??"

Sango giggled, and Ayame guffawed. Rin covered her face, and Kikyou smiled. _Who knew?_

Kagura cleared her throat meaningfully, and Sesshoumaru held Kagome back from tearing Shippo's limbs off while saying, "Next person's turn to be tortured!"

Daichi and Amaya watched each other intently from behind the bar, where he enjoyed his beer and she a cooler he had mixed for her, a Fuzzy Navel. They paid no attention at all to their children as they played a game of Battleship.

"You sunk my carrier, woman!!"

"You sunk my tanker."

"Point taken."

Back at the fireside, Shippo glared at Miroku ferociously while asking, "Inuyasha: Truth or Dare?"

Leaning back against the couch, a self-assured smile on his face, he replied, "Truth."

Shippo was slightly thrown off, but decided Inuyasha's answer was just what he'd been hoping for. Hitting one brother below the belt was as good as hitting another, so he grinned and blurted, "Is it true that you were spying on Kikyou the other night when she was getting out of the shower?"

Inuyasha's eyes went so wide that everyone burst out laughing, and Sango pointed and shouted, "Pervert!" while clutching her gut.

Inuyasha frowned, and began to sputter, suddenly regretting the choice of options he'd made, and said, "Well, maybe, I -"

Kikyou cut him off, yelling, "You were spying on me?!"

"No!" He denied vehemently, but his cheeks remained red. Kikyou pretended to be offended, but secretly she was pleased. Maybe she would tell him so…later.

Crossing his arms and huffing, he said, "Kagura. Truth or Dare?"

Kagura stopped laughing and began to sweat. _What would he ask of her?_ She knew Truth was a bad idea, but he could dare her to do something awful, like kiss Miroku. She frowned as her thumb went over a bump on the back of her cell phone and she thought fleetingly, _What is that?_ as she quietly replied, "Truth."

Inuyasha gave her a very predatory grin, but before he could say a word, a clap of thunder so close shook the house, and from the top of the stairs came the sound of someone trying to kick the door down.

Screaming, all the girls jumped up, and ran all over, the boys trying to calm them down. Amaya set her drink down hard on the bar, and flipped open her cell phone, checking for missed calls, but there were none. She hoped her fellow agents were close; she was getting no signal through the storm and could not call out.

Kagome, having chained the Jewel around her neck earlier as they played, felt it pulse. _He was near_. She turned to Sesshoumaru, but he was not there; he had run to the cellar door, and was trying to unlock the chains.

Near panic, everyone but her moved in that direction, and she stopped at the foot of the stairs, rooted to the spot. The Jewel began to turn black, then pink, then black again.

_He's trying to corrupt it_, she thought, _therefore corrupting me!_

Sesshoumaru finally got the chains undone, and looked back over his shoulder, scanning everyone behind him for Kagome, but not seeing her.

Kagome watched with fascination as the door splintered apart, the bit of an axe flinging wood chips with every _thwack!_ of the blade.

"Kagome!" he shouted, but was pushed along outside by his frantic brothers and her panicked sisters.

Kagome finally overpowered her paralysis and ran toward the flapping doors, getting soaked as she climbed the small flight of cement steps just as Naraku hacked his way through the door, gripping the axe tightly and stumbling down the stairs, looking for her, for it - the Jewel that called to him, enticing him with its power.

Spotting the doors jerking and banging from the wind outside, he thought, _You think you can outrun me, you little bitch? _but was stopped momentarily as he picked up his daughter's pink cell phone off the carpet, rubbing it with his thumbs.

Tossing it, for he didn't need it anymore, Naraku followed the call of the Jewel outside into the pounding rain.

**S.T.**

Kagome was sweating despite the soaking she got as soon as she set foot outside the house. The cottage was set apart on its own property from the other cottages along this road, and for all she knew, the estate was huge. She was lost; her sisters had scattered as had Sesshoumaru's family, and now she was alone, with nowhere to hide, and a madman stalking her.

She placed her hand on the gun in her jeans pocket; when she'd gotten dressed, she'd had to borrow Sesshoumaru's clothes, and they were much to big for her, and sagged off her body. The only thing between her and nakedness was a leather belt, and even it was falling down on the job. Her leather costume was still on underneath.

Moving behind a tree, she shivered, but removed his clothing, and stuffed it between the tree branches, in plain view. She stuffed the gun into the back of her leather shorts. If she was going to protect the others, she had to lead Naraku away from them, her own safety be damned. She just hoped she wasn't in over her head.

_Come on girl, you can do this_, she convinced herself as she slunk through the trees, only a sprinkling of rain reaching her through the thick stand of pines. She glanced behind her.

Somehow, without her noticing, she'd begun to climb uphill. Through the branches below her, she strained to see if he was still following her; sure enough, about fifty yards behind her, he was beginning his ascent, the axe still firmly gripped in his hand.

Feeling queasy at the sight of him, she whispered, "What have I gotten myself into?", but she didn't stay watching him.

Her blood on fire from fear, she never felt the cool rain as it slid down her legs and saturated her hair. The only thought in her mind was to get ahead of him and get the drop on him, but where, she didn't know. She wished Sesshoumaru were with her; he'd know what to do.

**S.T.**

Whew, more to come, my beautiful fans! Review me, I cry when I don't get any! Sniffle, and I worked so hard... I'll update tomorrow. Hope to hear from ya!


	18. Chapter 18

Well, some nice reviews, I must say, I'm blushing! Like promised, here's chapter eighteen, straight from my head to your eyes. Prepare to fight, my friends!!

Deds:

**Mystical Hanyou** - I'm sorry if I forgot to mention you before, my comp's a piece of crap. B.ut I have two now so we're fine! Kags is up for the fight of her life, do you think she'll make it through????? Gack, of course she will, you guys know me too well!

**Inuyasha is Awsome** - Keep reading, I haven't had any complaints yet, they tell me its good! Thanks for reading!

**Kitsune's Lover** - Me too! Hell, I'd piss myself and forget who I was for half an hour or so if that happened! I think there's another cliffy here, I'll let ya know when I get there, lol. Yay for axe-wielding maniacs!!!

**Du Weldenvarden Farcai** - Well, it's nice to hear from you again, it's been a while! I'm pleased that you are so impatient, makes me wanna get writin'! Even though this bastard story is soooo long (113 type-written pages) I think I'll make it a two-parter. It's not official but... I'm thinkin bout it real hard!

Looky there, four reviews! Yesssss! I'm hugging myself guys, I thought for sure you'd have lost interest by now! Sniffle... so happy...

**Sweet Temptation**

Sesshoumaru wandered aimlessly, hoping to catch a glimpse of somebody, _anybody_, as he searched for Kagome. _Was she alone? Was she dead?_ He just didn't know, and the tension of not knowing had him wound tighter than a spring.

A hand reached out of nowhere and snagged his shirt, and he yelled, flinging an arm at his assailant, and wound up smacking Inuyasha right in the face.

"You son of a bitch!" Inuyasha yelled, holding his cheek and clenching his jaw. His eye was throbbing, and would soon turn black.

Sesshoumaru glared at his brother, soaked to the bone, and barked, "Have you seen her?"

"Seen who? Everybody scattered. I haven't seen anyone but you, and you go and try to kill me! Nice, Sesshoumaru."

Turning away, he continued on. Inuyasha let him leave; he was in no hurry to sympathise with his brother after what he'd done to his face. _Kikyou will make things better_, he consoled himself as he plunked down under a tree to wait for the rain to let up.

Sesshoumaru stopped as he stared at the ground. Someone had been here, very recently; there was an axe-shaped puddle soaking up water in the mud at the bottom of the hill behind the house, and two very muddled sets of prints went past it. Looking ahead, his face was grim. _If you're up there Kagome_, he thought, _I'm coming for you_.

**S.T.**

Kagome reached the top of the hill and turned frantically, looking for someplace to hide. As she turned, she glanced at the ground, and what she saw there made her groan. In the mud, dissolving even as she watched, though not nearly quick enough, were a clear set of prints - her prints.

_Shit_.

She racked her brain for an idea. _What was it animals did to hunters that threw them off a trail? _She knew this, had seen it in countless movies… _Backtrack! That was it! _

Stepping carefully in her own prints, she followed them back downhill, but only to where the pines began to thicken. Then, being careful to jump far off her beaten path, she climbed a thick pine and sat waiting for Naraku to walk beneath her, and hoped to God that he didn't look up.

She suddenly remembered the gun she had hidden in her shorts, and reaching back for it, felt nothing, only her skin. The gun was lost, and she was on her own. _God help me_…

**S.T.**

Naraku slipped and did a face-plant into mud for the third time, and began to slide backwards. Gouging the muddy earth beneath him deeply with the axe blade, he stopped his descent and swore. _How the hell was she making it up here so quickly? _She appeared hindered by the mud not at all, while he struggled through the mire, growing more and more frustrated, and more anxious to kill her slowly and painfully the longer he struggled.

He examined her prints under his nose and noted the small but deep holes gouged by the heels on her boots. _So, that's how she's doing it_, he thought, his anger dissipating. Her boots were to the muddy hillside like an ice pick was to the sheer side of a glacier. His dress shoes were completely unsuited for the mud, which was why he kept sliding; his shoes had virtually no tread.

Using the axe, he made his way to firmer ground and removed his jacket, leaving it in the dirt behind him as he trekked on, searching for her and following her trail.

When he got to the top, he frowned. She wasn't here. Her trail ended here, and he smiled. _Thought you were pretty smart, didn't you, Midoriko?_

Looking over his shoulder, the grin on his face akin to a lion hunting a dying gazelle, he backtracked her, and stopped to inspect the ground when he re-entered the trees, looking for a sign where she had left the trail.

**S.T.**

Kagome held her breath as she pressed her body as close to the tree trunk as she could, her feet balancing precariously on the thick branch she was standing on. Slowly, she tried to inch her way around, so she wasn't in Naraku's direct line of sight should he look up, but just then, the Jewel pulsed, and they both froze. Grabbing it with her hand, she covered it, and squeezed its warmth for reassurance. _Help me, grandmother_, she prayed, _give me some sign to tell me what to do_.

**S.T.**

Naraku froze, his finger half-way to the soil to test the softness of the dirt when he felt it, very close by; the pulsing of the Jewel. Snickering, he glanced up, but saw nothing in the trees.

Frowning, he held a hand over his eyes to shade them from the brightening clouds overhead, the tail-end of the storm passing over, when he finally spotted her.

Grinning, he leaned his axe against the nearest tree and stretched.

"You may as well come down from there. I can see you in that ridiculous outfit, cowering behind that tree. I thought you had more guts than that, Midoriko." Naraku was aware that by calling Kagome by her grandmother's name he was confusing her, which was just what he was endeavouring to do. The more confused she was, the more likely the chance he would have of convincing her to hand him the Jewel.

Kagome shut her eyes tight and then whipped them open. _Midoriko? Was he high?_ She doubted it, but he could have fooled her.

Taking a deep breath, her sanctuary redundant now that he'd found her, she moved back to a sitting position on her branch and replied, "I thought you'd have enough guts to kill me with your bare hands, Naraku. Did you bring that big axe along to help you defeat a little thing like me?"

He snarled at her, lifting a lip in disdain at her successful attempt to spurn his pride. She was right though; he didn't need the axe to defeat her.

Hefting it, he threw it away behind him, the blade landing in the trunk of a spruce tree several yards away, sunken to the handle. It made a loud _crack!_ on contact with the dry wood.

Holding his hands up, he smiled. "I guess we're even now. I'm weapon-less, all you need to do is put down the Jewel. Then I'll gladly take you on in a fair fight."

The fear she'd been feeling up till now suddenly dissipated. He _must_ be high!

_Either that or very clever_, she thought, decided to play along with his game, for now. "How silly do you think I am, Naraku? I need the Jewel just to qualify in a fair fight against an unarmed opponent like you. Though we both know the meaning of the word fair is lost on you."

He gritted his teeth, and for a second she saw the anger that seethed under his smooth veneer before it disappeared and he was his charming self again. "Now, now, no need to get lippy, Kagome. I'm offended that you think I'd fight dirty."

She laughed aloud at this, and began to play with the Jewel at her neck.

"I'm offended that you think I'd believe that!"

The Nice Guy act wasn't working. He decided to pull out the big guns and drop his cajoling attitude. Shaking his head, he smiled. "Listen, you little whore. If you give me the Jewel like a good girl, I won't have to kill you!"

She raised a brow at him, and stood. She'd gotten under his skin, and her confidence continued to grow as his patience wore away. "If you fuck off, I won't be forced to kill _you_, Naraku. Two can play that game."

At the end of his rope, Naraku closed his eyes and concentrated. He was no longer in control of his body as another power overtook him and Kagome felt the change in energy within him; when he spoke, her suspicions were confirmed.

"Midoriko," he hissed, his body bursting forth from his suit to take the form of a hideous beast, with tentacles for arms and insect legs, expanding and growing larger as she watched with wide eyes. That voice had _not _been his own.

_Sesshoumaru, where are you?_ she thought desperately before she herself lost control of her senses and fell into a darkness so complete that she could not move, only listen as Midoriko's voice replaced her own and engaged in a conversation with Naraku.

**S.T.**

Sesshoumaru slipped, but caught a branch before he descended too far. Using it to pull himself up, he followed several streaks and a series of small and large holes in the mud, his only clue as to the path the two ahead of him had followed.

Spying something dark and wet on the slope above him, he picked up the wet bundle and shook it out. It was a suit jacket, and something weighed heavily in the inner breast pocket. Sticking his hand in, Sesshoumaru pulled out a silver Magnum, similar to the one he'd taken off Hakudoushi.

_Naraku_…

Pocketing the gun, he continued up the hill wondering why Naraku had left his jacket and gun behind, and if Kagome was still okay. His gut clenched at the thought of losing her.

**S.T.**

Amaya winced in pain. Daichi watched her but said nothing, dismissing her wince as the a result of being crammed inside the shed with everyone but Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, and Kagome.

Kikyou anxiously glanced out the window, looking for any sign of her sister or Inuyasha, but she saw nothing. Deep down she was scared… really scared. Her sister was in trouble, and she could stand idly by no longer without intervening.

Amaya pressed the microchip embedded in the skin stretching between her thumb and index finger on her left hand repeatedly. It was a regulation at the FBI to have the chip inserted in her skin; it was a way for the Agency to keep track of its agents, and a way for them to call for assistance should no other means be available.

An answering vibration came back through the chip, and it was slightly painful, but she smiled through the pain. Help was close at hand.

No one expected Kikyou to bolt, though. One second she stood still, rubbing her wet arms to generate heat, and the next she was running through the rain, her sisters screaming for her to come back, and none of the boys brave enough to go after her.

Amaya chewed her lip anxiously.

Daichi didn't even know what she was doing before it was too late, and she'd dashed out into the rain after Kikyou, yelling at him to stay put. "Don't any of you leave!" she screamed, running backward. "I won't lose you again!"

**S.T.**

"Naraku… we meet again."

"Midoriko."

She smiled, a longbow and a quiver of Sacred Arrows materialising from her very hands, emitting a bright pink glow.

"Good."

A tentacle lashed out at her as he attempted to slice her head from her shoulders. Kagome could feel every move, every strand of hair as it snaked across her face, everything slowing down as her body moved with incredible speed.

_What's happening?_ she thought, trying to control her body, but it wouldn't respond. Midoriko was in the driver's seat now, and she wasn't answering Kagome's pleas.

The Jewel glowed at her neck as Naraku tried again and again to separate her from it, missing by a hair's breadth every time. Trees began to fall down the hillside as his tentacles sliced large sections of trunk away, wood splinters scattering everywhere as the severed logs began to make their way down hill until the thicker trees stopped them.

Midoriko fired an arrow at Naraku's heart, but she missed, instead hitting his shoulder, the flesh disintegrating in a bright flash of pink light, but she had only wounded him. Even as she watched, his shoulder began to re-shape itself, healing back to smooth skin stretched taut over muscle and bone.

He growled; that had been _very _painful. He gritted as his skin knitted together. He may have been able to heal instantly, but she had inflicted a lot of damage with that Sacred Arrow. He was becoming weaker, despite appearances.

"Midoriko… you'll regret that," he hissed, his voice emitting from his throat, though his lips didn't move to form the words.

She smiled, and aimed. Loosing the second arrow, she grinned with victory as his torso exploded, the pieces slowly flying away, only to be sucked back to re-form what was destroyed.

_He's weakening_, she thought, and turned her head to her left, following movement from behind her; he was trying to distract her.

Springing off the ground, one of his thick tentacles lashing out at her, she jumped off of it, using his momentum to launch herself into the air, and as she turned, her hair blocked her view, and before she could loose the drawn arrow in her longbow, she felt something sharp penetrate her armour, and pierce her shoulder, blood spurting hotly all over him as he pulled her close to his face, writhing in pain and at his mercy.

He laughed maliciously. _This is it_, he thought, watching the Jewel begin to darken under his influence the closer he brought her to himself.

Suddenly, Midoriko was gone, and Kagome was face-to-face with a monster, and her breath caught in her throat. _No! Sesshoumaru, help me!_

"It seems you are at my mercy, Priestess. Pity… I thought you'd put up more of a fight."

Kagome's pride was stung, despite the fire burning in her shoulder, and she realised that this was it; this was her moment of truth, her moment to prove that she could defeat the greatest threat the modern world have ever known. She was destined to win, she'd _seen_ it!

Reaching out to touch the Jewel at her neck, he backed off when it crackled with pure energy, enough to burn him. Withdrawing, he sighed mentally. He'd forgotten that he couldn't just _take_ it. Of all the ridiculous conditions, he'd been cursed with this one! _Fuck!_

Kagome fingered the Jewel slowly in her hand, teasing him, before her hand began to glow and she absorbed the Jewel within her, and it settled in her heart, its pure pink glow restored. She began to laugh, and he glared, his teeth bared.

"Rules have changed, Naraku. You want the Jewel… come and get it."

And she reached out and clamped both hands on his face, squeezing his cheeks and concentrating all the strength she could summon as her pure aura burned him, a foul stench assaulting her senses as his skin melted off the bone.

Throwing her, his tentacle slid out of her wound with an excruciating slurp, and she landed hard on the ground, clutching it and trying to get up.

_I'm dying_, she thought, her hand already stained with her life's blood. His tentacle had been staunching the blood flow, but now that it was gone, her blood spurted eagerly through her fingers.

Ripping a strip off her skirt, she kept an eye on Naraku, who stumbled about the clearing he'd made, blinded by her aura. Tying her wound off with the fabric, she pushed herself to her feet and wavered; her vision was spinning, but she had to kill him, even if it killed her.

_Sesshoumaru, where **are** you?_ she wondered again as she reached for the bow and arrows.

Naraku's face was healing, but she'd burned him so acutely that he wasn't healing as fast as he should have been, and when he heard her draw her bowstring, he lashed out and wrapped his knotty tentacles around her, revelling in her pained moan as he held her up and squeezed her tightly, and, blinking, he began to focus as his vision returned, fuzzy at first, but improving with every passing second.

Poising his tentacle to pierce her heart, he laughed in her face as she still struggled to keep the bow drawn, her arms shaking with the tension.

"Stubborn to the bitter end, aren't you, Midoriko? Never wiling to accept the fact that you've lost-"

"I don't think so, Naraku." She smiled at something behind him. Turning, he saw Sesshoumaru, a silver Magnum in his hand aimed at his heart.

He threw back his head and laughed. "You two think you can defeat me?"

Sesshoumaru's hair began to rise, and his eyes rolled back into his head. Blinking, the whites of them had bled red, and from the gun formed a long broadsword, blue light crackling along the blade from the malignant power inherent to the weapon, and the smile slid off Naraku's face. _Not again_…

A white-haired demon stood before him, his wide-sleeved kimono flapping in the breeze created by his own aura, ancient armour adorning his left shoulder and a massive tail slung over the right shoulder, the armour held together by a breast-plate tied into place with a navy and gold sash. Jeans faded into white hakama as Shirae opened his eyes to the world for the first time since his death two hundred years ago.

Snarling viciously, he recognised his enemy instantly, and the precious burden he held in his grip. Kagome saw him fly forward, and screamed, "Sesshoumaru!"

Loosing her arrow, preparing to summon her own sword if this attempt to destroy him failed, she only felt the hard ground as it rushed up to meet her, Naraku having dropped her in his effort to dodge Shirae's _Dragon Strike_.

He had made a fatal mistake in ignoring her, though - as the _Dragon Strike_ hit him a glancing blow, her aim had been true - the arrow had struck him square in the heart.

"No!!" he screamed, disintegrating before Shirae's eyes, blowing away in the wind from the passing storm clouds above, their anger still as they witnessed the scene below them in silence.

Only a body remained of Naraku, his physical body, and Shirae approached him cautiously, but at his touch, the body was cold and lifeless.

_They had done it! _

Turning to find Midoriko, he saw her on her face, pine needles stuck in her hair and covered with mud. Kneeling over her, he turned her to face him and gently patted her cheek to rouse her, but something troubled him. The ground beneath her was stained red, mixing with the mud, and her scent had changed - she smelled like death.

"Midoriko!" he cried. _I can't lose her again! Please, don't die on me_… _Don't let me be too late!_

Setting her back down, Tensaiga pulsed as he drew it out, and held it over her. Slashing her, he re-sheathed it and waited, but no change occurred, except that she still breathed.

Looking up to the sky to plead with whatever Gods might be listening, a fat drop of water hit his face and he blinked.

Sesshoumaru looked around, his hands empty. The silver Magnum was jammed in his belt, but other than that he was defenceless. His memory of the past events began to fade as he heard voices approaching through the trees.

Amaya, Kikyou, and five FBI Agents found Sesshoumaru cradling Kagome in his arms, rocking her bloody body back and forth, his face buried in her neck and murmuring over and over, "Stay with me, Kagome, stay with me. Please..."

**S.T.**

Wow. Yep, another cliffy, hehe, sorry bout that. Can't wait to be bitched out for two cliffy's in a row, lol! Hit me, you guys! I'm ready!!!


	19. Author's Note

As I was editing this story, I had to go back and check some things, and it has come to my attention that in chapter 17, Shippo responds "Dare" instead of "Truth." I apologise for this little screw-up, I must be high on crack - or just a really retarded editor. It was _soo_ obviouus, too! Grrr! Anyway, please forgive any confusion this may have caused, because I'm an idgit. Thanks! Shannon 


	20. Chapter 20

Well, holy shit everybody! I'm extremely impressed! Six reviews, in one day! Oh...My...God! I'm so happy I could spit...but I won't, wink! (Cuz that's gross and rude) Oh, I would start singing if I didn't sound so terrible!!! (Does a dance around the room). Oh, and Rach finished colouring my pics, so now she's just gotta get them to me from her camera, and we're fine! (I really like how Kanna and Izayoi turned out, even though she's not in this story. I was just having too much fun and needed someone to draw, heehee! I can't wait for you guys to see 'em! I'm so proud of them!).

Deds:

**cookiemonsterks** - Sounds like an interesting story. I think the bot is cheating me and you, cuz I don't get your reviews until after I've posted a new chapter. STUPID FUCKING BOT!!! Anyway, I can safely say that no copyrights were infringed, cuz I've never even heard of that book, but it sounds quite interesting, as I said. Maybe I'll check it out!

**Kitsune's Lover** - Hehehe, EVERYONE is at my mercy! (So don't think yer alone, lol). His armour is sexy, isn't it? I like the guy on the Fido commercial who plays Santa, he's sooo yummy, oh, I'd totally jump him... Random, eh? lol, I'm such a jerk! I apologise for mocking you there, I hit myself for you. Ow.

**susie202** - ... Wow. That's... Interesting!!! I can totally imagine that, cuz I have a 27 year-old sister, but she's never done that... as far as I know. I'll ask her kids, they'd tell me cuz I give them candy, heeheehee.

**Mystical Hanyou** - Your wait is over my friend. You will find out if she croaks or sings, lol!

**Du Weldenvarden Farcai** - I hope I spelled that right, whew! Am I forgiven? I didn't make you wait _too_ long, did I? I meant to update earlier but... shopping! Like, can't pass that up! Gah!

**cookiemonsterks **- ...You again!? Lol, Just kidding, I love hearing from ya. Like I said above, FUCKING BOT!!!! Anyway, that could be the case. Being mental has always been a pet peeve of mine (wink) and so is fucking up! I was so mad when I found that mistake, and couldn't correct it...ARGGG!!! Oh well, I explained, all forgive me, right? I'll try not to do that ever again, I promise!! Oh, by the way, I have noticed that the bot is infamous for sending me your reviews as soon as I post a chapter, and it makes me miss you, so what do you say we steal some cricket bats and beat its ass like the bad monkey it is? It'd make me feel better. Ya in?????

**Sweet Temptation**

Kagome opened her eyes to the bright white glare of the fluorescent bulb that hummed above her hospital bed. Her hand was warm; someone was holding it. She sensed movement about her in the room, and, remembering her last thought, she tried to sit upright, but the IV line held her back, and she strained at it, ripping it from her vein and spraying blood all over.

"Kagome! It's okay!" Kikyou cried, pushing her sister back down. Kagome had been unconscious for three days, and Kikyou wished Sesshoumaru had been here, not her. He'd finally gone home to sleep after staying with her for two days with no sleep, just sitting and watching her. Kikyou had taken pity on him and had told him to get some rest; had in fact pushed him from the room and locked him out, but now she regretted that decision as she struggled to calm her sister.

Alarms rang and a nurse rushed in, saw what was happening, and turned up the morphine.

Kagome relaxed instantly and dropped off again, slumping back against the pillow, her face pale. Kikyou remained silent as the nurse re-inserted the IV in her sister's other arm, and bandaged up the damaged one.

"What happened?"

"I don't know," Kikyou admitted, tears stinging her eyes. _Had Kagome's experience been that terrible? _

"Well, keep an eye on her. She should wake up again soon, I slowed the drip. She'll come around." Leaving, the nurse closed the door behind her.

Kikyou grasped Kagome's hand once again. Tears began to stream down her face. Her sister had missed work on Sunday, and the Doctor's office had called today to inform them that since Kagome had failed to come to work without notice twice in a row, they were firing her. Kikyou had tried to explain the situation, but they had fired Kagome anyway.

_We're going to lose the house, and all our memories of Mom and Dad_, she thought, distraught, as she leaned her forehead against the bedrail. Sango and Ayame had been skipping school to work, and Rin had applied at several places already, but had not heard back from any of them yet. It burned Kikyou to know that her twelve-year-old sister had to take a part-time job just so they could keep their house. _It's was so unfair!_

_Kagome really did keep us going_, she realised. _I never realised how much we depended on her, how hard she worked, just to keep us together_… Now, they would probably be separated and sent to live in a group home, unless Kagome adopted them… _would she have to do that just to keep us together?_ Kikyou just didn't know, and all her worrying was making her head pound.

**S.T.**

Sesshoumaru rolled over in his bed. _Kagome_…

He got up, and grabbed the keys to his Mustang. He couldn't stand being away from her a moment longer.

"Where are you going?" Daichi asked as he passed him in the living room on his way out.

Sesshoumaru stopped to watch his Father play Checkers with Shippo. He wished he could sit back and enjoy such mundane past-times, but he had things to take care of now - someone who needed him.

The look on his son's face told him the whole story, and Daichi waved his hand dismissively.

"Forget I asked. Go."

When he got there, Inuyasha was sitting outside in the hall, his head resting on his arms.

"How come you're here?" Sesshoumaru asked. "Where are Miroku and Kouga?"

Inuyasha looked up and frowned. "They're out waiting for Sango and Ayame to get done work."

"Oh. And you?"

He jerked his toward the door. "Waiting for Kikyou."

Sesshoumaru tried the door. It opened silently, and Inuyasha stood to follow him in, but Sesshoumaru stopped him.

Kikyou sat by her sister's side, speaking quietly, but loud enough that the brothers could clearly hear her words.

"Kagome, please, come back to us," she sobbed, laying her head in Kagome's lap, like she used to do to her Mother when she was small. "We can't go on like this… we need you, Kagome. I… need you."

Kagome opened her eyes, and wrinkled her nose. _Was the oxygen really necessary?_

Removing the nosepiece, she stroked her sister's head and replied, "I won't ever let them separate us, Kikyou. _Never_."

Kikyou looked up, her lips bursting out in a smile as she took in her sister's pale face, a determined look taking over her delicate features.

"Kagome!" Kikyou hugged her, and Kagome returned the hug with equal force. Soon, though, Kikyou was crying again.

"What's the matter, honey?"

Kikyou saw her Mother in her sister's eyes as she looked up at her, and she sobbed, "You lost your job at the office, Kagome! I tried to tell them it wasn't your fault, but-"

Sesshoumaru frowned. _Why hadn't Kikyou come to him with this news?_

Inuyasha whispered, "The office job? Those assholes!"

Kagome smiled benevolently at Kikyou. "Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it? Are you okay? If we lose the house, it's the end of our family, Kagome! Rin's applying for jobs, did you know that? And _no one's_ willing to hire a twelve-year-old!"

Kagome winced. _How long had she been asleep? Surely not that long_…

"I still have the stripping job. We can get by with that… we'll just have to give some things up, that's all."

"No, you won't."

Kagome looked up, and Kikyou wiped her eyes as Sesshoumaru came in, Inuyasha close behind him. Kagome's face lit up and her eyes grew moist, and she whispered, "Sesshoumaru…"

Running the last few steps to her, he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, kissing the top of her head before she began to pull away, searching for his lips. He eagerly let her tug him onto the bed as her lips found his, pulling him in as if she couldn't get close enough.

Kikyou took Inuyasha's hand and led him out of the room, both their faces red from the embarrassing display their siblings had put on.

Once out of the room, Kikyou leaned against the wall and looked up at the ceiling. The whole world felt as if it were pressing down on her shoulders alone, and fresh tears made their way out from under her closed eyelids as she sunk to the floor in defeat. Sitting next to her, Inuyasha was at a loss. _How do you console a crying girl?_

_You kiss her_, his mind hinted, and he thought, _Well, alright, but be prepared for a slap_.

Scooting closer, her ventured, "Kikyou?"

Sniffing, she looked up. "Yeah?"

His mouth moved but no sound came out. _What?_ she thought, frowning. _What are you trying to say, Inuyasha?_

Giving up, he leaned in and kissed her. Her eyes popped open, not expecting this from him at all. Did she dare think… that he liked her? Maybe even _loved_ her?

_Would he be kissing you if he didn't?!_ her mind rejoiced, but a small seed of doubt remained.

Regardless, she took this chance to pull him closer and deepen the kiss, feeling truly happy for the first time in a long while.

**S.T.**

The nurse came back down the hall, a clipboard in her hand and a pen in the other. Her patient was… Kagome Higurashi.

She looked up when she neared the room, and smirked with mirth as she watched two young people kiss each other timidly outside the girl's room. She passed them without detection and opened the door, only to find the same thing occurring within, only these two were a little further along and seemed to have no reservations toward each other at all; in fact, it was obvious that they'd done this before.

"Ahem."

Kagome pushed her hair out of her eyes and gasped, "Oh!" and sat upright, keeping Sesshoumaru close by her side as she tried to regain her composure in front of the Nurse.

He, on the other hand, made no effort to hide his desire for the woman holding his hand as if she'd never let go.

Smiling knowingly, the Nurse asked, "Feeling better today, Miss Higurashi?"

Kagome giggled, and glanced at Sesshoumaru. "_Much_ better."

He grinned back at her.

Checking Kagome's vitals and recording them, she did a quick examination and declared Kagome free to go. Smiling, Kagome hugged Sesshoumaru as the Nurse left, shaking her head, a smile on her face. She had never ceased to be amused by young people in love.

**S.T.**

Kagura sat in her Father's dark bedroom, staring at the wall. Already his smell was fading.

Kaede had packed up all their things, and Kanna was supposed to come home from the airport today. Hakudoushi had been found unconscious at the donut shop where Kagura had left him, and was being prosecuted as an accomplice to Naraku.

Kaede had told her what had happened between her parents when she was just a little girl; she vaguely remembered her Mother, and her promise to return. She'd never known until now that her Mother was dead for all these years.

_Father, you asshole_, she fumed, and, picking up his bed-side lamp, hurled it vehemently at the wall, watching it shatter into tiny pieces.

He had been so cruel to Kanna and herself. She'd endured his sickening presence, totally unaware just how evil he was - she'd had an inkling, mind you, but not until a while before his death - and Kanna had been sent away every year to school because Naraku had felt inadequate around her. If anything, she was more shrewd than he'd been, but Kagura was sure that now he was gone, her sister's shrewdness would fade in time.

_We're free_, she realised, and allowed herself to smile. Her Mother may have left her, but she'd had to, Kagura understood that. Kaede had been declared their legal guardian, and was going to be executor of their Father's will, since he had named her. They were moving out of this house, to a new one a few blocks away, so Kagura and Kanna would still be close to school, and Kagura's friends, the Higurashi girls.

Kagura blinked. Kagome was still in the hospital. _I should go see her_. _I really need to apologise, I feel awful about my part in getting Sesshoumaru involved_.

Leaving the dark room, she closed the door, but took one last look around. Naraku had certainly liked dark colours; the room was like a cavern. All it lacked was bats.

She felt as if a chapter of her life had closed with that door, and another, fresh one had opened before her. She and Kanna would live normal lives now.

Running downstairs, she grabbed a jacket and yelled to Kaede, "I'm going out! Be back soon!"

"Where are you going, Kagura?"

"I'm going to visit Kagome, Kaede. I have some things I need to tell her."

"Hurry back, child. Your sister's plane lands at four."

"I'll be here." She made to leave, but stopped. Her Father had detested public displays of affection, and so she had never hugged anyone, but the urge to hug Kaede goodbye now was too strong to ignore, and, turning back, she pressed herself to the older woman and smiled when she felt her hug returned.

Kaede smiled. She had worried about Kagura for a while, but she'd come so far already - she hadn't expected her to warm up to her so quickly. _She's young_, she reminded herself, _and young people are resilient. She'll be fine_.

Watching her go, Kaede felt a tremendous wave of relief; now that Naraku was gone, she and the girls could make a fresh start, and try to forget all the awful things that had happened in the past.

**S.T.**

Kagome packed up her clothes and slung her bag over her shoulder, wincing. It was still tender.

Taking one last look around, to be sure she didn't leave anything behind, she left her hospital room, and walked down the hall, to check out at the Nurse's Station. As soon as she was finished there, she walked toward the entrance and sat down on a bench outside, waiting for Sesshoumaru. He said he'd be back to pick her up at three-thirty.

She glanced at her watch. _He was late_.

She thought of calling him, but decided to wait. The weather was beautiful, and she'd been cooped up inside for so long, the fresh air felt wonderful.

Throwing her head back, she frowned as she thought she'd heard someone call her name.

Shrugging, she closed her eyes but heard it again, and, looking up, she saw the familiar form of Kagura running across the parking lot, calling her name and waving her arm. Sitting up, Kagome smiled politely as Kagura approached her, and asked, "How are you, Kagome? Did they let you out?"

"Fine, thank you. Just."

"Cool." She toed the pavement, then just sighed. "Can I sit down?"

Kagome motioned to the bench. "Go ahead."

"Thanks."

Plopping down, her chest still heaving from her run, Kagura caught her breath then began.

"Kagome, I…" this was harder than she'd anticipated. Admitting that she was wrong was difficult; _Must be a trait from Father_, she thought, mentally damning him.

Kagome waited patiently for Kagura to say her piece. She imagined the girl was having a hard time.

"I'm… sorry. I know now that Sesshoumaru was not meant for me. I'm sorry for trying to steal him, and for getting him in trouble with my Father. He really could have been hurt, and you were hurt. I just want you to know that I'm very sorry for it all." She hung her head, totally prepared to be told that damn right, she should be sorry, but all she got was a hand on her shoulder.

Looking up, she was surprised to see a smile on Kagome's face. "That took a lot of guts to own up to your responsibility, Kagura. You are not who I thought you were. You're much better. I'm sorry, too. I thought you were vindictive and spiteful, but what you did just now proved me wrong. Thank you for apologising."

Kagura felt her pride swell within her, and she returned Kagome's smile. Suddenly Kagome suggested, "Why don't you come home with me? Sesshoumaru's coming to pick me up, and I know Kikyou would love to see you."

Kagura thought about it. _It would be a good chance to apologise to Sesshoumaru, too_, she thought, and replied, "That's a good idea. I need to speak with him, too."

Kagome retracted her hand but the smile never faded from her lips. Kagura had done a lot of growing up, and she was proud of her. They talked about their siblings until Sesshoumaru finally pulled up, the engine roaring.

Kagome winced, and Kagura coughed, embarrassed. Killing the engine, Sesshoumaru got out and, giving Kagura a puzzled and very suspicious glance, sat next to Kagome and handed her a giant bouquet of white roses, and kissed her hungrily.

"Sorry I'm late," he said between breaths, and Kagome pulled away.

"They're beautiful, thanks." Roses took on a whole new meaning when they came from _him_.

Shooting Kagura a wink, she stood up and said, "I think I forgot my purse upstairs. Wait here while I go get it?"

He nodded, and watched her leave, and when she was gone, she turned back to watch them through the nearest window, which was in the cafeteria.

Kagura cleared her throat, and he frowned at her, but said nothing. She decided just to blurt it out. That was the quickest way.

"Sesshoumaru, I'm sorry."

His brows went up and he replied, "You are?"

"Yeah. I know when I've lost." She looked up at him from under her eyebrows, and he smiled a bit.

"I'm sorry, too."

Now it was her turn to frown. "For what?"

He crossed his legs at the ankle and stared up at the sky. "For doubting you. I thought for sure you were going to betray us at the last minute, but you didn't. You helped us, when you really didn't have to, Kagura. That took guts, and I admire that."

She grinned in her mind, but smiled at him. It felt so good to hear praise from him at long last.

_This must be just a fraction of how Kagome feels_, she thought, enjoying the moment to the fullest. She and Sesshoumaru really were great people.

"Thanks, Sesshoumaru." She blushed.

He chuckled. "Thank _you_, Kagura. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for you." Then, leaning over, he pecked her cheek, and she turned tomato red.

Kagome decided that they'd cleared things up, and, smiling, came back out of the hospital, glowing at them both.

"Where's your purse?"

"There was no purse. I made that up as an excuse for you two to sort things out alone. Did it work?"

Sesshoumaru looked at her, one brow raised, but a smile on his face, and Kagura laughed.

"It did."

"Awesome. Let's go!" Taking his hand, she beckoned for Kagura to follow, and, getting in the car, he drove them home.

**S.T.**

Two hours later Kagura went home, and Kikyou walked her the three houses to her own Mansion.

An awkward silence fell between them, before Kikyou smiled. "Kagura… I don't know what to say. What you did… it was heroic. Thank you. You saved my family!"

Hugging her, Kagura felt her eyes grow moist. When they had arrived earlier, Sesshoumaru had gathered the two families together and announced that he was moving in with Kagome in her house, and that, now, since Naraku was gone with neither of his daughters old enough to succeed him at the company, it had been turned over to the Senior Executive under Naraku, and he had promoted Sesshoumaru to Junior Executive as compensation for everything he'd endured under Naraku at the company.

Kagome was quitting her stripping job as soon as she could find another job, preferably one she could go to during the day, but Sesshoumaru had told her she didn't have to work if she didn't want to, they could get by comfortably on his income alone. She'd thought about it, and agreed.

"It'll be nice to spend more time with you guys. I miss that." she'd said, pulling her sisters into a giant hug, Kagura included.

Turning red, she hugged Kikyou back with feeling. It felt so nice to have so many people care about her.

And, to top it all off, Amaya's partner at the Agency, Agent Karen Malone, an American, had dropped by to tell them that Naraku's autopsy revealed that a bullet to the heart had killed him.

Sesshoumaru and Kagome had looked at each other. _They knew different_.

Waving goodbye to Kikyou, she opened the front door and entered the house. The foyer was strewn with suitcases and bags and trunks.

_Oh shit_, she thought, _I forgot that Kanna was coming home_.

Putting her purse and jacket away, she crept inside, listening for her sister or Kaede, but the house was silent.

She was creeping into the kitchen when a voice asked, "What _are_ you doing, Kagura? Sneaking around in your own house? He really did a number on you. I'm not surprised you still tiptoe around. How sad. Thank God he's dead, I think you would have shrivelled up and died if he hadn't."

Spinning, the girl who'd spoken was Kagura's sister, Kanna, but Kagura barely recognised her.

The last time the sisters had seen each other last summer, Kanna had been three inches shorter and had a habit of hiding behind her hair. Kagura was stunned by the girl who stood before her still wearing her school uniform - _barely_ wearing it, that is.

Kanna had blossomed into a beautiful young woman at fourteen, and Kagura immediately felt plain and frumpy in her own off-the-shoulder sweater and stylish blue leather boots. Her sister's button-down white shirt was tied at her chest in a knot, her belly exposed. Her skirt barely covered what it was meant to and her sleeves were rolled up, showing off her pale and perfect skin. Her hair had grown, and was now pinned back on both sides of her face with two white flower barrettes.

She exuded a strong sexuality in her simple uniform that Kagura recognised as a threat. She didn't know why, but her sister made her feel jealous and inadequate at the same time, and it got her back up. Not to mention her sharp tongue; Kanna had always been witty, but in a quiet, subdued way. Now, her tongue was like a lash and she had no compunction about using it, especially on her only sister.

Smiling only to hide her anger, Kagura sarcastically replied, "Nice to see you too, Kanna."

Kanna smiled back, the gesture equally as fake as Kagura's, and, taking her sister by the arm, steered her into the kitchen toward the massive table.

"So, tell me, Kagura. What was so important that you couldn't come with Kaede to pick me up? I'm extremely interested to hear what you have to tell me. I hear you have friends, and that half of them are guys. When did _you_ become so popular?"

Kagura glared at Kanna. She didn't appreciate that her little sister was now taller than her, nor the insinuation that'd she'd had barely any friends the last time her sister was home, even though it was true. _Kanna was so… callous!_

Kagura refused to sit and leaned with her back to the counter, her arms crossed and an annoyed lift to her delicate brow.

"Not that you care, but I have plenty of friends. And what I do with them is my business. I'll thank you to respect that."

Kanna slitted her eyes slyly and crooned, "Ooh, Kagura, so hostile. I was just wondering why my only sister skipped out on my homecoming."

She lowered her eyes to her lap and looked up again at Kagura innocently, but Kagura was no fool.

"You didn't give a shit and you know it. And what's with the outfit? When did you come out from behind all that hair? The last time you were home you barely spoke and practically lived within your own little shell."

Kanna glared. "People change. _I _did."

Kagura smiled a genuine smile. _My, how the tables have turned_…

"I can see that. Now you're a slut. Good change."

Kanna suddenly stopped glaring and assumed her innocent face.

"I may dress differently than I did before, but I changed because I realised something, big sister. _I can use this face to get whatever I want_. Let me show you."

And, letting her bangs cover her face as she looked at her lap, Kanna took a moment to look up at her sister, a smile on her face so breathtakingly beautiful that Kagura felt jealousy course through her veins; it made her sick.

"You see, I became aware of the power of my smile, Kagura. And my sexuality. Both have changed my entire outlook on life. Not to mention my love life. Are you still a virgin, Kagura?"

Kagura's cheeks grew red. Kanna was so frank, it made her even more uncomfortable than she already was. _How the tables had turned again_…

"I thought so. Pity. You have no idea what you're missing."

Kagura looked at her sternly. _Kanna was only fourteen, for God's sake!_

Before she could voice her opinion, though, Kaede walked into the room and Kanna immediately smiled at her, the smile of an angel.

_What a fraud_, Kagura seethed. _Just like Father_.

Her eyes flew open. _Was Kanna going to pursue the Jewel that they'd all worked so hard to defend? No, she probably doesn't even know about it. And I'm certainly not going to mention it to her, either_.

Kagura watched with disgust as Kanna sweet-talked Kaede into making her a smoothie she was totally capable of making herself.

Shaking her head, she left the room. Her sister had always been difficult. But now… well, Kagura hoped she never met her friends. Hearts would definitely get broken if that ever happened, and she didn't think she could bear to be an outcast again after working so hard to be accepted.

_Life's such a bitch_, she thought, slamming her bedroom door.

**S.T.**

**Oooh, hard times for Kagura ahead, or will the Taisho boys be overwhelmed by Hurricane Kanna? Find out in the next chapter!** God, that sounded corny. I need my own announcer, make it more real. I tells ya though, this story just keeps going!!! IT WON'T LET ME STOP!! Hee heh... Review, and maybe I'll post again _very _soon...Maybe. If I get results like I did today, you guys, we'll all know who's really at who's mercy, lol!


	21. Chapter 21

Well, slap my ass and call me Sally, I almost pissed myself and forgot who I was was for a whole half hour this morning! _Seven_ reviews! Can you guys believe it???? I'm _soo_ happy I could give to the poor!!! Keep 'em coming, babes, I think my two-parter just turned into a marathon novel!!! Ahhhh!

Deds:

**dark eyed demon girl** - Sorry you had to stop there! Hope to hear from ya a little further into the story!

**anime-lover-forever2007** - Whew, I finally got ya in there! I kept telling myself, get her in there, she's waited too long as it is!!! I was going nuts trying to find an instance where you could make an appearance! Yer very welcome!!

**Du Weldenvarden Farcai** - Heeheehee, I was wondering if that would confuzzle anybody, lol!

**Mystical Hanyou** - Trust me, she gets worse. She's a skank of the highest degree... she might have to die. I dunno. Don't quote me on that!

**cookiemonsterks** - That would be nice of them, wouldn't it? Bastards... Anyway, yeah, I'd say that to her too. She's such a scag.

**susie202** - Don't think it hasn't crossed her mind, lol, but I think she's got Inu and Ship first on her list, hehehe!

**Kitsune's Lover** - Yer speakin' my language, sister! I wanna rip them off, too! He's _sooo_ hot! Guess what???? I'm getting another tattoo in the new year, and I'm gonna get them to put Sesshy on my lower back! Isn't that awesome!!?? I'm _soo_ excited! I'll get Rach to take a pic and show ya when I get it. Oh, and thanks, I wish my writing was crappier too, then my rents wouldn't ask me what the hell I'm doing on here so much and **leave me alone!!! Arggg!!!**

**Sweet Temptation**

Kanna sat in her room the next day, and watched through the window as some cops came by the house to drop off her Father's personal effects.

_As if we want them anyway_…

Sitting back, she opened her purse and took out a picture of her boyfriend from school. Flapping it listlessly, she rolled onto her stomach and sighed.

Life had been a series of long, boring events for Kanna. Ever since she could remember, she'd had a hard time feeling any emotion; nothing surprised her, nothing made her happy. The only time she felt anything remotely close to pleasure was when she was manipulating someone.

Naraku had sent her to school overseas after her third attempt to play him for what she wanted. He hadn't liked it; it had been too close to his own behaviour and he hated to admit it but she was better at it at the age of five than he was in his thirties. After all her years at the Academy she had only learned to hone her penchant for controlling those around her; back there, she'd had an entourage of loyal followers, and none of them followed her lead because she was noble and pure-hearted. She was a slut, and she used it. She was hip, she was happening, and everyone wanted in on it.

She cared not a wit for any single one of them. They were cattle to her, there only to make her look good. She used them to do her homework, or any other petty job she'd been assigned. Above all, she used the guys for sex.

At fourteen, Kanna was a sex goddess. She'd tried all positions with all sorts of variations, toys, and partners, but nothing satisfied her, just like her life. Not even sexual pleasure could make her happy for longer than a minute.

Glancing up, she watched Kagura walk quickly past her door, on her way downstairs.

Sipping the last of another strawberry smoothie, she went to the window again and watched her older sister run three houses down the street and enter a large, white brick house with a red Mustang parked in the driveway.

_What are you doing, Kagura? Leaving your poor sister behind like that?_

Kanna had known instinctively that her sister no longer regarded her as a safe relation; no, not anymore. She was her rival now, and Kanna sensed that at any cost, Kagura wanted to keep her sister separated from her friends. Kanna, though, had no intention of letting her have her way. She only had fun when she was messing around with others' lives; Kagura's friends sounded like the _perfect_ place to start.

She smiled malevolently as she slowly clopped downstairs in her heeled boots, to leave her dirty glass on the counter and throw on a jacket. She was going for a stroll.

On her way out, she stopped to look through the few articles the policeman and his female partner had dropped off: a suit jacket, a sterling silver cigarette case with Naraku's monogram on it, and some small black device.

Frowning, she turned the black thing over and over in her hand. _What the hell is this?_

Flicking a switch by accident with her thumb, a little screen lit up and laid out for her what appeared to be a map, with a tiny red light blinking. A green dot showed her own position.

_It's a GPS tracker_, she thought, slightly impressed. _What were you doing with this thing, Daddy?_

It took her a moment to realise the red dot was her sister. _But how was she picking up Kagura's position? _

She thought back to last night when Kagura had sat on the couch, alone in the spacious living room, which their Father had oddly left white, texting her friends with her phone. She kept turning it over and over, to pick at something on the back of it-

_That was it! You bugged her phone, Daddy? **What **were you up to?_

Curious, she decided to follow her sister. She had a plan to bump into Kagura, who was now headed in the direction of the Mall. And totally by accident, of course. Gathering up her purse, she left the house, leisurely following Kagura's signal to the Tokyo Mall.

But first, a costume change...

**S.T.**

Kagura told Kikyou, Sango, Ayame, and Rin all the way to the Mall about her Mother, Kayoko. They listened with fascination as she told them of her Father's abusive nature and talked heatedly about it all the way there.

She'd just finished telling them that her Mother's sister had been very close to her until close to Kanna's birth (whom she had not told them was home from school), when Kanna herself caught up to them.

Kagura curled her lip at her sister as she came running, pretending to be out of breath. Today she wore a tank top in white, with lacy fringe and a deep V-neck, with light-wash denim skin-tight jeans and white leather sandals - _**My** white leather sandals!_ Kagura fumed - and her red handbag, the only splash of colour on her entire person. _She changed before she came. _

"Kagura, why didn't you ask me to come shopping? You know how much I _love_ it!"

_No, I don't. You hate everything, you liar_.

"I'm sorry, I keep forgetting that you're home for good now."

She couldn't hide the sharp edge to her voice, and Kikyou and her sisters exchanged sidelong glances. _What was going on?_ It was like Kanna and Kagura were speaking in code.

Not wanting this meeting to end up in a fight, Rin stepped forward and said, "I'm Rin. It's nice to meet you, Kanna."

They all followed her lead, and Kanna turned up the charm. By the time they got around to shopping, she was laughing and joking with the Higurashi girls as if she'd known them her whole life.

Kagura fell a bit behind, fuming. _If looks could kill_…

Kikyou looked back and knew instantly from the look on Kagura's face that something was wrong. Slowing, she began to walk next to her best friend and waited for her to speak her mind; she was afraid if she pushed Kagura, she would dam up and tell her nothing, so, she waited her out.

Soon, she began to mumble, and as they entered the food court she said abruptly, "I have to go to the bathroom."

"I'll come with you," Kikyou said, "I want to check my make-up."

Kanna heard them and grinned, her smile a sight to behold, and said sweetly, "You guys find us a good spot where we can see any hot guys who come by. I have to pee, too!"

Following her sister and Kikyou, Sango, Ayame, and Rin watched Kanna disappear around the corner. Sango leaned over to Ayame when they'd picked a table and whispered, "She's nice, but-"

"But what?" Ayame asked after she didn't finish.

"I don't know," Sango said, frowning, "there's just something about her that I don't trust. Kagura really seems to hate her. She never even told us she had a sister."

Rin nodded. "Yeah. I don't like her either. She just strikes me as such a slut, given the chance. I don't think I would trust her to set foot within a forty-mile radius of Shippo without getting a little worried about what she might do - or what the sight of _her_ might make _him_ do."

"Yeah, I got the same vibe. I'm just so happy with Kouga, but it's only been a few days since we started dating. I don't want to lose him just when I finally managed to nab him." Ayame looked over her shoulder to make sure they were still alone.

"I agree. As big a pervert as Miroku is, can you imagine what he would do if he ever met _her_? I'm talking heart failure, here!"

Ayame and Rin laughed. "That's funny because it's true!" Rin chortled.

Sango smiled. "Uh oh, Snake Girl and our friend Kagura and Kikyou at six o' clock."

Composing themselves, they silently agreed to act normal as the three girls took their seats.

In the bathroom, Kagura had been about to warn Kikyou about Kanna, unaware that she harboured her own suspicions, when Kanna burst in and smiled angelically at them both, wrinkling her nose in a sweet manner that had endeared her to hundreds of people in her very recent past. Taking her stall, Kagura thought, _Kanna, you little bitch! You came in here on purpose so Kikyou and I couldn't talk about you! You are **such **a scag!!_

Kagura fumed all the more in her stall while Kikyou listened to Kanna's idle chatter, making non-committal noises when required and taking as little time to pee as possible. The atmosphere between the sisters was becoming more than just a little stifling.

Returning to their table, Kikyou immediately picked up on her sisters' change in attitude, though they tried to hide it. She rose her brows at Sango in question over Kanna's head as she sat down and Sango wrinkled her nose.

Ordering a pizza, they talked about school and told Kanna all about their teachers and subjects. She would be going to school with them soon, right after they moved into their new house the following weekend.

They were about to tell her about their sister Kagome and the Sacred Jewel when Kagura had a coughing fit, pretending to choke on her cheesy pizza. They got her hint and changed the subject - fast.

The whole day was awkward after that. Kanna talked too much while Kagura barely spoke at all.

Getting home, Kagura decided that she'd have to tell Kikyou over the phone. "Come on Kanna, we should go home."

Kanna looked hurt. "Why? We're having a good time. You can leave if you want. I prefer to stay."

"They didn't _ask_ you to stay, Kanna."

Kanna turned her head and shot her sister an icy glare.

Kagura stood her ground. "Go home, Kanna."

Just then, before Kanna could snap at her sister, Kagome opened the door, and, followed by Sesshoumaru, she lit up at the sight of her sisters.

"Hey, guys! Did you go to school today?"

"Yup!"

"You bet!"

Rin unplugged the answering machine and Sango covertly erased the phone's call memory.

"How was it?"

"Great. My friends really missed me," Ayame boasted, but just then, a knock sounded on the door. Standing the closest, Ayame's smile melted off her face as Sesshoumaru opened it and Kouga stormed in, demanding, "Where the hell have you been all day? I looked all over for you at school!"

Miroku, Inuyasha, and Shippo followed him, frowns on their faces. Inuyasha went straight to Kikyou and began to kiss her passionately, while Sango coldly regarded Miroku, eyeing him like an eagle should he reach for her butt. _Why did he always have to ruin their plans?_

Kanna was intrigued. It would appear that this family of women were in love with the family of men next door, and they were _all_ pretty good-looking.

Of course, she only dated the hottest boys, and from her standpoint, that was Kikyou's guy. Rin's boyfriend looked like he would be fun, too. And the tall white-haired one… _Mmm_, she thought, licking her lips.

She noticed, her eye sliding closed narrowly, that no one approached her sister. _Kagura had no boyfriend. How depressing_, she thought happily.

Kagura's eyes never left her sister's face as the boys flooded into the room, and, sure enough, she began to follow Inuyasha's every move.

_Oh no you don't_, she thought, uncrossing her arms and pushing herself off the wall. Grabbing Kanna's hand, she said, "It's late guys. We should go. Thanks for inviting me, Kikyou."

Kanna resisted, but Kagura jerked her out the door so hard that the whole room fell silent as they watched them leave, but they did not attempt to stop them.

When they were gone Kagome asked, "Who was that?"

"That was Kagura's younger sister, Kanna. She's home from boarding school and is going to be going to our school beginning next week, after the move." Kikyou said in a subdued voice.

All the sisters were contemplative, and the boys puzzled. Inuyasha shook his head. "So? Why so glum all of a sudden?"

Kikyou squeezed his hand and replied, "I really think Kagura's worried about what she'll do to our group."

"What do you mean?"

Kikyou sighed, and led him to the couch. Everyone else found their respective seats, some in someone else's lap.

"She was trying to tell me something at the Mall, but Kanna wouldn't leave us alone together. She was very agitated."

Kagome shook her head. "I can't believe you guys skipped school _again._ Sesshoumaru and I go away for two days… oh, by the way, we have good news."

Sango smiled. "Tell us!"

Kagome beamed at them as Sesshoumaru squeezed her possessively.

"I'm pregnant!"

"Oh my God, Are you serious?" They all looked at each other and smiles broke out all around.

"Congrats, you guys!"

"Way to go, Sesshoumaru!"

"Thanks you guys," Kagome smiled, kissing Sesshoumaru. Kikyou was happy for Kagome, but her mind wandered back to her conversation with Kagura earlier about her Mother, and she said, "Hey Kagome, Kagura was telling us today that her Father had her Mother killed when she was only two years old. Isn't that sick?"

Kagome shivered. "Yeah, he was a fuck-up of the first degree. What else did she tell you?"

Rin piped up, "She said that her Mother was really close to her sister, Ai, and that her Father turned them against each other with a long-kept secret that her Mother had had an affair with her sister's husband."

Kagome blinked. _Ai? That had been their Mother's name_.

Her heart skipped a beat. _Was Kagura related to them through marriage?_ She'd have to ask her. "Very interesting."

She decided not to appear too interested, but her curiosity was definitely piqued.

"Tell them the other news, Kags," Sesshoumaru reminded her, and Kagome momentarily forgot about Kagura's family as she held out her left hand for everyone's inspection and approval.

"Sesshoumaru asked me to marry him!"

Her sisters admired with open mouths the large diamond winking on Kagome's hand, catching the light from the ceiling and shooting streaks of rainbow colour at every angle. Her sisters were overwhelmed with joy, and piled on top of her, hugging her, and talking about her plans for the wedding.

After an hour of chatting, Kagome looked at her watch; it was ten. "Alright, ladies, it's getting late. Rin, to bed."

Frowning, Rin hugged Shippo and kissed him briefly as she bid him goodnight. Kagome had taken a while to adjust, but the sight of them together now made her smile with pride. _Shippo was a good choice_. _Their whole family was a good choice, and the Higurashi's prided themselves on making good choices_, she thought happily, scowling as the thought that except for skipping school they had a pretty good record passed through her head.

When Rin was gone, Sesshoumaru gave his brothers ten minutes to say goodbye to their girlfriends, and he led Kagome up the stairs to their bedroom. Signs of him were everywhere around the room. His move was complete, and Kagome smiled with pure content as she settled herself into bed, waiting for Sesshoumaru to return.

Going down the stairs, he knocked on the girl's bedroom doors, checking to make sure his brothers were gone.

When he was satisfied that they'd all gone home, he went back upstairs to Kagome and locked the door.

Kikyou smiled as Inuyasha peaked his head out of the closet and asked, "Is he gone?"

"And busy with his own woman. Get your hot ass in here!"

Inuyasha tilted his head at her, a smile on his face, but a frown there, too.

"You're very demanding tonight."

She growled and flung back her covers, beckoning with her finger, "I'll be even more demanding if I'm not satisfied, Inuyasha."

Grinning, he wasted no time undressing and climbing in with her.

Sango smiled as Miroku's head popped up over the side of her bed, and he grinned with evil intent as he burrowed his way under her covers, and she clenched her jaws shut in an effort to stay quiet.

Ayame rolled over. Kouga had gone home, reluctantly. She knew her sisters had sneaked their guys in, but she was yet uncomfortable with Kouga. They were still getting to know one another, though she regretted making him leave. She could have let him stay, as long as they only slept, and nothing more. She thought that sounded quite nice, when a scratching sound came from the window. Frowning, she lifted the glass panes and was face-to-face with Kouga.

"Ayame, I-"

She grabbed his collar and yanked him in, and he began to laugh. _She was so impatient! _

"Look, you can sleep next to me, but nothing more, okay? Not yet."

He nodded eagerly, "Sure Ayame. Whatever you want."

Smiling, she pulled him under the covers and began to kiss him.

Rin rolled over in her bed in the basement and shivered. She envied her sisters so much. None of them were as close as she and Shippo, yet they were too young to stay together. She found the thought intrigued her, but it scared her, as well. She knew what sex was, and basically what went where, but she'd only begun to feel lust and love for the first time in her young life, and had not the experience in distinguishing between the two that her sisters had. Like the child she still was, being with Shippo excited her, but it scared the wits out of her, too. She felt safest when she was in his arms, but she wasn't ready to submit her body; she knew she was too young, though that didn't stop her from fantasising about it.

When Shippo walked through the front door Daichi and Amaya were curled up on the couch, eating popcorn and watching a scary movie. Amaya saw him first and said, "Hello, sweetheart. Where're your brothers?"

Shippo snickered. _This was a perfect opportunity to make Miroku, not to mention Kouga and Inuyasha, but mostly Miroku, pay for his embarrassing part in their little game of Truth or Dare last Sunday night_.

"They're next door. Sesshoumaru checked to make sure they left, but they didn't. I'm sure their fornicating right now, under his very own nose."

Daichi choked on his popcorn, and Amaya picked up the phone next to her on the table, and dialled Kagome's number.

Shippo sat back and watched the show as his brothers came home minutes later, escorted by a half-dressed and _very_ pissed off Sesshoumaru.

They eyed him angrily as their Father lectured them about safe sex and blah blah blah, but he walked up to his room with a smug smile on his face.

_Payback's a bitch, isn't it, Miroku?_

**S.T.**

Sesshoumaru slammed the door. He was mad, but… he thought of Kagome upstairs, waiting for him, and his anger drifted away. He could picture her in his mind… he ran up the stairs.

He would speak to the girls about their behaviour tomorrow.

Flinging open the bedroom door, he frowned as he looked at her. Kagome was asleep, her arm flung over her face, and her feet hanging out from under the covers. She twitched, and scratched her nose. He smiled. She was so cute when she was asleep. He climbed in next to her, feeling just a little disappointed, but as he rested his hand over her belly, over their baby, he felt a little bit better.

**S.T.**

Kikyou spooned her Cheerios into her mouth, and almost choked as Rin flung one at Sango's forehead. Ayame's forehead was on the table; she'd fallen asleep while eating again.

Sesshoumaru walked into the kitchen with no shirt on. Kikyou looked up and immediately felt her face flame. She noticed her sisters were having the same difficulty and suddenly found their cereal very interesting, except Ayame, of course. She only snored.

"Morning, ladies."

"Morning, Seshoumaru," they said together, and Sango's eyes darted from him to Rin to Kikyou over Ayame to him again. _Would he say anything about last night? _

Sesshoumaru took his time making coffee and enjoying the silence he inspired. They were like a clutch of magpies if left to themselves.

_Is this what having sisters is like?_ He wondered._ Is this protectiveness I feel for them from my own brothers normal, or am I cracking up? I'm not even an official part of their family yet_.

Finally turning around, he smiled at them, but decided to let Kagome handle them. Now that he was handed a perfect opportunity to reprimand them, he felt out of place and awkward.

Suddenly, Ayame woke up and said, "I wanna go to the dance, you guys."

Kikyou looked at her sisters and smiled. _Ayame had gone off the deep end!_ Sango giggled, and asked, "What dance? There's no dance, Ayame!"

She yawned, and nodded. "Is too. This Friday. I heard someone talking about it at the Mall yesterday."

Sesshoumaru chuckled. "See? You'd know that if you bothered to go to school."

Kikyou affected a wounded look to settle on her face. "Hey, we were just having a girls' day out, Sesshoumaru."

"Yeah, and was the day before that a day out, too?"

She smiled. "No, that was girls' day _in_!"

He sighed, "I see."

Taking his coffee, he headed upstairs to get dressed, but came back a second later. "Well, you better go today. I don't want to hear anymore messages on that machine from some bot telling me that three members of this family were missing from school _again_. You hear?"

They smiled, and Sango saluted. "Yes sir!"

He smiled, and left them. He was mad, but… he just couldn't stay that way. _Damn them and their sweetness_, he mentally cursed them.

Kagome rolled over and flicked Sesshoumaru's fingers away as they endeavoured to find a way up her nose. She snorted and got snot all over his hand, waking herself up just as he moaned, "Ewww, gross!"

She burst out laughing, "Thought you were smart, huh? Now you know better!"

He made a face and went into the bathroom to shave and dress for work.

Slipping into her silk housecoat, Kagome left him to eat her breakfast downstairs with her sisters. The girls were on their way out when she came down, and she frowned.

"See ya this afternoon, Kagome," Kikyou said, and hugged her. Sango, Ayame, and Rin filed past after her, and she waved goodbye to them as they walked around the corner. She lingered a few minutes, enjoying the early summer heat and the rising sun as it warmed her face.

A moment later, the Taisho boys ran from the house, late for school, and waved to her, calling, "Hey Kagome!" as they jumped into their car and sped away.

She smiled and waved back, shouting, "Have a good day, guys!"

Sesshoumaru squeezed past her, and pecked her lips. "Goodbye, babe."

"Miss you."

"You too. I love you."

She smiled, and winked. "I love you too, _you_ _hot piece of ass_."

He tried to frown but failed and smiled, laughing, and she blew him a kiss.

He shook his head as he climbed into his Mustang. _Life would be far from dull with her around_…

The following week, Kaede and her two charges had moved into their new house a few blocks from their old one. It was smaller, but very nice, a red-brick with a Roman column façade out front, and a two-car garage.

Kanna finally unpacked all her things. She pulled her laptop from its case and plugged it in, then she asked Kaede to take care of her cell phone service.

Kagura couldn't believe Kaede let Kanna walk all over her like that, but every time she mentioned it, Kaede got angry and refused to speak about it.

Kagura had no problem transferring her things from the old house to the new one. She left for school the next morning, wishing Kanna didn't know where she was going.

Kaede went up to Kanna's room and looked around. It was a disaster area, but she was busy rearranging everything to her satisfaction, or so it appeared.

"Kanna, I registered you at the school yesterday. They expect you there tomorrow."

"Hmm," she replied. _**Where **had those leather sandals gone?_ She had been so sure she'd packed them…

Kaede watched a moment more before leaving her. _Kagura is right_, she thought, her eyes narrowing. _Kanna **is** just a little different_…

**S.T.**

Well, well, well, Kanna's getting ready to stir up the shit. What a bitch. I hate her already! Is it normal to hate your own characters?? I dunno. I could be crazy, there's a big chance of that. Can't wait to hear your guesses about what she'll do next, lol!!


	22. Chapter 22

Okay, Everybody, Merry Christmas! This is my present to all you faithful readers out there, to have a brand-spanking new chapter to read on the Big Day, even though I feel shitty but Hell in the form of an Apocolypse will not prevent me from posting!!!!

Deds:

**anime-loverforever2007** - She is evil... we'll see about her demise. I haven't thought of a good way yet...

**Mystical Hanyou** - Well... your first character guess was right... but the rest is a little off. Good try though! I still love you!

**Kitsune's Lover** - Your right, they do have a fight... but not in this chapter. It's bad, believe me! And you will want to rip Kanna's eyes out... stop, don't spoil the surprise!!!

**Du Weldenvarden Farcai** - I couldn't have said it better, lol!

**cookiemonsterks** - Hahahahahahahaha! Your priceless! The ghettos?! That's great, I feel momentarily better. She is a bitch. I swear, you guys, I have such a scene coming up for you... if only Rach could possibly find the time to read it... sigh.

**Sweet Temptation**

Kagura ran the few blocks to Kikyou's, clopping in her white sandals and looking over her shoulder every few minutes, but Kanna was nowhere to be seen. She didn't know how she'd found her last time, but she was determined that that wouldn't happen again.

Huffing, she met Kikyou and her sisters at the corner of their street, and they all walked to school together.

"Where's Kanna?" Ayame asked, and Kagura's smile faded, replaced by a deep frown, and she turned her head away as she answered, "She doesn't start till tomorrow."

"Oh." An uncomfortable silence followed, until Kikyou broke it by asking, "Was there something you wanted to tell us, Kagura?"

_Yes! _

"Look, you guys," she said, checking behind her once more, just to be safe, "Kanna's a bitch. _Do not_ trust her. Alright?"

Sango frowned. "We got that impression yesterday. But why? What has she done to make you hate her?"

Kagura sighed. Even after her Father was gone, her troubles still hovered around her like a swarm of malevolent wasps, hurting everyone who came close to her.

"When we were at your place, she had her eye on the guys. Just trust me here, okay? Do not leave her alone with them, watch her like a hawk, or she will steal your man, got it? I have a horrible feeling that she'd hurt you guys because she knows that'll hurt me."

Kikyou smiled, and the sisters exchanged glances. "You know, Kagura," Sango said, putting her arm around Kagura's shoulders, "You are such a good friend. I can't believe we used to hate you!"

Kagura smiled, "You used to hate me?"

Kikyou slapped Sango, and said, "That was before they knew you. They thought you were really going to ruin Kagome's relationship with Sesshoumaru."

Kagura nodded. _She could understand that_.

"But now that that's behind us," she continued, looking meaningfully at her sisters who smiled sweetly in return, "we can move on with our lives. Thanks for the warning, Kagura. I got the feeling that Kanna was like playing with dynamite. You never know when she's going to blow up in your face."

**S.T.**

School went smoothly for Kagura that day; she got no homework, and her last period teacher let her class leave ten minutes early, as soon as they'd finished their assignment.

Strolling to her locker, a boy passed her in the hall, a few of his friends accompanying him. He winked at her, and she forgot herself and let her jaw drop open. He smiled as he passed, and she stopped to watch him.

_Who was **that **guy?_

She didn't think she'd ever seen him before. _Maybe he was new_.

She shook her head to clear it. _Whoever he was, he certainly was cute_… she found it impossible to keep from grinning as she slung her bag over her shoulder and slammed the door to her locker shut, closing the lock and spinning the dial.

Waiting for Kikyou outside her last class, Latin, she told her best friend about him as they dropped off her stuff and Kikyou took out a bottle of water and finished it before throwing it in her locker and slamming it. "Was he hot?" she asked, waving at Inuyasha as he wound his way through the crowd toward them.

"Yeah, he was. I'll point him out to you when we see him next."

"Point who out?"

Kikyou spun Inuyasha and kissed him passionately, making him sway on his feet before licking her bottom lip and replying, "The hot guy who winked at Kagura."

He turned to face Kagura and smiled. "Some guy winked at you?"

She blushed. "Yeah."

He grinned. "What did he look like? Maybe I know him."

She smiled. Just the thought of him elicited smiles she had no control over. "Well, he's tall, very cute, and has long purple hair. And he was wearing a green T-shirt and jeans."

Inuyasha scratched his head. "I think I know who you're talking about. Really built?"

"Yeah."

He nodded. "That's Juuromaru. Just moved here from Osaka last week. Nice guy, too."

Kagura giggled. "He's so cute."

"You want me to talk to him for you?"

Kagura looked up at him, surprise written on her face, and Kikyou did the same, saying, "Inuyasha! That's so nice of you!"

He shrugged, turning red at her praise. "Well, it's the least I can do, having misjudged you and all," he said to Kagura, and she smiled, her eyes growing moist. That meant a lot coming from him.

"Thank you."

"No problem. He's in my Gym class. I'll put in a good word for you." He turned to Kikyou and grinned. "Walk you to Bobbi's?"

She laughed. "You drove here, stupid! Or did you forget that?"

He frowned. "Quit making fun," he sulked, "just because my memory is shit doesn't mean it doesn't have feelings, you know!"

Kikyou lifted a brow in doubt and Kagura snorted. "You are such an idiot."

He made a face at her back as she grabbed his shirt-front and dragged him along as she and Kagura headed downstairs, stopping first at Sango's locker, Miroku waiting casually alongside her, then onto Ayame's, where Kouga was fending off another guy who was interested in her, and she smiled when he wasn't looking. Lastly, they made their way to the bottom floor of the building, where the junior-high lockers were, and found Shippo sucking Rin's face off at her locker.

Inuyasha smacked Shippo's head playfully, and Shippo punched him in the gut, making him double over and grunt in pain. The girls laughed and Shippo's brothers high-fived his excellent aim as Inuyasha writhed on the floor.

Kikyou shook her head and pulled him to his feet, his eyes glaring daggers at his built-like-a-brick-wall little brother.

_One day, Shippo, you will sooo pay for that! _

When they got out to the parking lot, Inuyasha tossed Miroku his keys and took Kikyou's arm. "May I walk you to Bobbi's?" he asked - again - gallantly, and she raised her brow at him - again - but sighed, smiling and replying, "Why can't you be like this more often?"

He laughed. "Because that would make life simple!"

"Is that too much to ask?" she mumbled under her breath, and Kagura chuckled, following. Rin and Shippo walked a few feet behind her, while Sango and Ayame had taken a ride with Kouga and Miroku.

They all headed for their after-school meeting place, Bobbi's Teriyaki Sushi. Kagura was having a great time laughing at Inuyasha's stupid faces when they walked inside, and there, standing at the counter, ordering a double latte, was Kanna, in short-shorts and red leather sandals - _**her** red leather sandals, that bitch!!_ - and a white baby tee, her aviator sunglasses sitting atop her head and her hair thrown up in a messy ponytail, two chunks fastened by barrettes hanging down on either side of her face.

Kagura hunched her shoulders and literally growled as Kanna turned and, setting eyes upon her sister, waved and made her way over to their table, where Miroku, Sango, Kouga, and Ayame waited for her, Kikyou, Inuyasha, Shippo, and Rin.

_How in the hell?_ Kagura wondered frantically. _How had she known? Or had she known?_ She doubted Kanna's presence was a coincidence. She barely knew her way around, and they'd just moved, for that matter! She had not been home enough in the past to remember where anything in the city was… _What are you up to, Kanna? And how are you doing it?_

Kanna stood next to their table and, looking at Inuyasha, dazzled him with her smile as she asked, "May I sit here?"

His jaw fell open and he blinked, before he came back to his senses and replied, "Sure, why not?"

Sliding into the booth next to him, Kikyou glared at Kanna from Inuyasha's other side. Kagura rolled her eyes, feeling helplessly obligated to treat her sister civilly in front of her friends. "You guys, this is my sister, Kanna. Kanna, this is Inuyasha, Kikyou's boyfriend…"

Kanna held out her hand and looked at him in such a way from under her eyelashes that he felt all the heat rush, well, down. Kikyou smiled at her brightly, now that she was in Kanna's direct line of sight, a smile that screamed, _Touch him and die_. Now she knew what Kagura had meant when she'd warned them against Kanna being around their guys.

"And this is Miroku, Sango's boyfriend…" Kagura went on, pointing to him, and Kanna nodded to him and smiled, but nowhere near as big a smile as she'd given Inuyasha, who was still trying to compose himself after her onslaught. Sango gave her a shark grin.

"And that's Kouga, Ayame's new man," she winked, forgetting that her sister had ruined her day until she got to Shippo.

"And last, but certainly not least, that's Shippo, Rin's Number One Squeeze." Kanna focussed her attention on Shippo, and within seconds he was redder than a tomato. With one look she'd made him feel… like a god. He didn't have to hear her say it to know she wanted him, and he tried hard to hide the fact that he was helplessly flattered.

Kagura pulled up an extra chair and sat close to her sister. If she didn't keep an eye on her, and steer this conversation toward safe topics, it could literally blow up in her face.

Unfortunately, though, things did not go as she had hoped they would.

"Are you guys going to the dance?" Rin blurted, then looked at the tabletop with regret. _Why did I say that??_

Kagura's eyes widened, and a silence fell that was awkward in the extreme. Smiling, Kanna asked, "What dance? Kagura never mentioned a dance…"

Kikyou, smiling a smile that everyone knew was fake, said, "It's the school dance, and all grades are invited to attend. We're all going together," she made sure to state, so Kanna wouldn't get any ideas about going with their guys, and like an idiot Inuyasha asked, "We are?"

She elbowed him hard and said, "Yes, we are!"

"Oh yeah! I remember now," he said, picking up on her hint, catching the angry looks from his brothers. He sighed. He couldn't help it. Having Kanna sit so close was… distracting.

Kanna smiled without showing her teeth, her serene smile. They were so nervous around her she could practically hear the girls hissing at her with contempt. _This was going to be fun_.

"Sounds great. I'll definitely be there. I start school tomorrow." She pulled out the schedule she'd gotten that day in the mail, and opened it. "Do any of you have English 8G tomorrow morning?"

Shippo looked up. He did. Rin looked at him nervously. She'd seen his face before when Kanna had looked at him. _Was she going to lose him to Kanna, a girl his own age? Would he still be interested in her, a twelve-year-old?_

Rin contemplated Kanna. She was so pretty, and had an air about her that exuded experience. Suddenly she felt as if her gut was going to fall out her butt.

"I do," Shippo said quietly, not daring to look at Kanna or Rin.

"Great," she drawled. "Will you show me around tomorrow?"

Kagura decided she'd heard, let alone seen, enough. "I'll show you around, Kanna. Shippo has enough on his plate without you adding to it."

Kanna turned to her sister and remarked, "Thank you Kagura. I appreciate that."

Kagura curled her lip in disdain. _What you really mean is that I'll pay for ruining your little scheme, don't you?_

Inuyasha cleared his throat. _Was it just him, or was it weird in here?!_

Suddenly, Kouga's phone rang. He spoke briefly, then put it away. "That was my soccer buddy," he said, excusing his way out of the crowded booth by the window. "I'm late for practice. Call you." He kissed Ayame goodbye, and waved to the rest of them as he ran out.

Shippo took his cue. "Come on, Rin," he said, taking her hand and helping her out of her seat, "I'll walk you home."

"I'll come with you," Ayame said, and left with her sister and Shippo.

Now, only Kagura, Kanna, Kikyou, Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku were left.

Kanna sighed. She hated to cut things short, but she wanted to be home before Kagura. Her sister had some shoes that needed her attention… or rather, her lighter.

"Well, I'm on my way," she said, standing, and they all smiled and bid her goodbye. She walked into the lobby, waiting for her denim jacket as the hostess went to fetch it, and she eavesdropped on her sister's conversation as soon as they thought she'd gone.

"Kagura, how can you _stand_ her?" Kikyou hissed, and Kanna smiled. _She's worried_, she thought. _Excellent_.

"Just ignore her. It's attention she's after."

_Not just attention, dear sister_, she thought, smiling. About to leave, Inuyasha's next words prompted her to hang around a moment longer.

"Oh, Kagura, I just remembered. Do you have Math first thing in the morning next semester?"

"Yeah."

"So does Juuromaru. Apparently your not the only math brain anymore."

Kagura grinned. "He's so hot, I could just lick him!"

Inuyasha laughed at the interested expression on Miroku's face. "Is that so? Do you fancy licking anyone else Kag-"

Sango elbowed him in the gut, and he croaked, "I love a woman who isn't afraid to voice her opinion."

Sango giggled, replying, "And don't you forget it! I'll take you on any day, sweetheart!"

Kanna decided she'd heard enough. _So Kagura had a man in mind, did she? Well, we'll see who gets him, sister dearest_, she thought evilly, and smiled all the way home. _Messing with people's love lives was so… satisfying. _

**S.T.**

Kanna opened her sister's closet and scanned the selection. Kagura had her shoes arranged to cover the entire lower half of the space. _You may have great taste in shoes, Kagura_, she thought, picking up a pair of rhinestone-studded stilettos and swinging them around her thumb, _but you have awful taste in clothes_.

Digging through her purse, Kanna came up with a metal lighter her friends back in England had given her as a going away gift, and snapped it open, spinning the flint until the wick caught fire.

She was about to light the shoes on fire when they were snatched out of her hands, and Kagura glared back at her viciously. Kanna was excited; she'd never seen her sister so angry.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing?"

Kanna was silent, but her smile said it all.

"Get out."

Flipping her lighter closed, Kanna left, but before she'd passed the doorframe, she said, "Consider yourself warned, Kagura."

Kagura swallowed. _She wanted to kill her_…

Kanna glided down the hall with only a tiny amount of happiness over what she'd almost done. Her smile grew as she reviewed her plans. _Kikyou, by Friday, Inuyasha will be mine. And Kagura… you will bear the brunt._

**S.T.**

Kagome waved goodbye to the girls the following morning.

Kagura had shown up early, her sister in tow, and she had fed them Cheerios, laughing with the others as Sango once again hurled her Cheerios into her sisters' mouths.

She kissed Sesshoumaru goodbye and promised to stop by the office to see him for lunch.

She smiled with mirth as once again the Taisho boys were late for school, and shoved her own _chatty cathys_ out the door when the time came for them to leave.

After that, she went to the supermarket.

**S.T.**

Kikyou looked suspiciously at Kanna.

She walked beside Rin ahead of them, neither girl saying anything to the other. Rin was apprehensive, and nervous. She'd gone to more trouble than usual with her appearance that morning, but Kanna still outshined her; she never failed to wear something more eye-catching than everyone else, except maybe Ayame. She had an eye for fashion that rivalled Kanna's any day.

The girls were almost there when the guys drove by, honking and yelling out the window, and Sango yelled back, "You know we're hot! Admit it!!"

"Never!" Inuyasha yelled, and Kanna kept her small smile to herself. She had plans for him today. She would be his date for the dance… _she would see to it. _

**S.T.**

During third period break, where the students had five minutes to move to their next class, Kanna scanned the halls for any sign of white hair - or purple hair, whichever came along first. _She had so many things to do…_

Finally, she spotted him, and as he passed her in the hall, her arm snaked out and she affected her most innocent face.

_I should win an Oscar for this_, she thought.

Inuyasha felt himself sucked away from the crowd and his friends as he was spun to face Kanna, her shiny black eyes almost tear wet.

"Oh, Inuyasha, thank God," she sniffed, holding out her schedule, "I have looked everywhere, but I just can't find my History class, and if I'm late one more time today someone told me they'll send me to the office, and I don't even know where _that _is, either!"

She held the back of her hand to her face, to hide her tears, but his soothing voice made wrecking her eye make-up worth it.

"Look, let me see. History, room 119. Come on, I'll show you."

"Thanks, I really appreciate it, Inuyasha."

And she smiled at him. He felt a jolt of electricity as she bared her teeth at him, a jolt that travelled from his brain outward, to the very tips of his fingers and toes. Fleetingly he wondered if Kikyou could make his body do that with a single smile.

Taking his hand, she toned her smile down a bit and allowed him to lead her through the crowd of people, many of whom did a double-take at the sight of them together, holding hands.

_Perfect,_ she thought, snickering inwardly. _Kikyou's going to know about this in no time_.

When they arrived, he pulled his hand out of hers and smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck his other hand. "Well, here you are."

She took note of the rooms around hers and the trophy case across the hall and turned back to him. "Thank you very much, Inuyasha. I'd be so lost without you."

He hemmed and hawed around, his cheeks aflame, when Kikyou rounded the corner and spotted the two of them standing there. Kanna couldn't have done better if she'd had supernatural powers and commanded Kikyou to show up, and as soon as she saw her, she lowered her lashes and moved closer to him, whispering, "I really do appreciate your going out of your way, Inuyasha. Will you accept a token of my gratitude?"

She looked up, and he was hers, hook, line, and sinker. Reaching her chin up, she pecked him on his bottom lip, before smiling seductively and stepping into the classroom just as the bell rang.

He didn't even realise that by showing her to her class, he was going to be late for his own, and he walked down the hall in a daze, his fingers to his lips in wonder.

Kikyou had stopped in her tracks as soon as she'd spotted the two of them together, but Kanna had moved to smoothly that she'd been at a loss to do anything but watch events unfold before her, and when she saw her kiss him, her heart shattered, _because_ _he didn't push her away_.

Kikyou let out a sharp sob, and Inuyasha heard it; spinning around, all he saw was Kikyou running away, her face covered by her hands. He began to chase her, calling, "Kikyou, wait! That wasn't what it looked like!"

Kikyou, overwhelmed by emotion so strong she thought she might drown in it, stopped dead and stormed back to him, screaming, "Oh, no? It didn't look that way to me! It looked like you _liked_ it! How can you do this to me?!"

And she ran again, only this time he didn't follow her. His head drooped and his shoulders sagged. He'd really messed up this time.

_Maybe Kikyou and I aren't meant to be_, he thought, then vehemently shook his head. _Don't even think that! Kikyou has done nothing but love me. I won't lose her. Not now, not **ever**!_

**S.T.**

After school, Kikyou didn't show up to meet her sisters to go to Bobbi's.

She ran home, and didn't stop until she'd slammed her bedroom door shut. From there, she cried until her head pounded and her eyes refused to produce more tears.

Kagome knocked on her door, calling, "Kikyou? Sweetheart?"

Opening it, Kagome rushed to hold her sister, the look of absolute misery on her face pulling hard at her heart-strings. Holding her tightly and smoothing her long black hair, Kagome rocked Kikyou. Kikyou began to cry again in earnest, and held onto Kagome as if she would die if she ever let go.

It was half an hour before Kagome finally asked her, "What happened, honey?"

Kikyou could barely get it out, but when she finally blurted, "Kanna kissed Inuyasha!", Kagome hid her reaction. She was not surprised by this at all, and had, in fact, anticipated it, but what she hadn't anticipated was that Kikyou would take it so hard.

"Oh, Kikyou…" she was really stuck now. _They were a perfect couple_, she thought. _How could he have let this happen?_

Kagome asked gently, "Did he kiss her back?" Kikyou sniffled, hesitating.

"No."

Kagome smiled. _The relationship was salvageable after all_.

"Well, don't let a little thing like that ruin your life, honey. I'm sure he can explain what happened. I think this was all just a big misunderstanding."

"You do?"

"Yes, I do. I think you should hear what he has to say, first." Pulling Kikyou close, Kagome whispered, "You can't let her win, Kikyou. It's what she wants; if you get into a fight, she'll move in on him. Don't let her."

Kikyou smiled. Things were beginning to make sense now; she remembered how Kanna had looked at Inuyasha yesterday, and she resolved to let nothing Kanna did come between her and Inuyasha.

A moment later, the doorbell rang, and Inuyasha barged in, and, spying Kagome coming out of Kikyou's room, he grabbed her by the shoulders and demanded, "Is Kikyou in there?"

Laughing, she said, "Yeah, she is. But she's very upset. Are you here to make up with her?"

He looked at her as if she were whacko. "Of course! I love her!"

Kikyou's eyes widened from the other side of the door. _He loved her?_ Her heart melted, and she felt terrible for making him worry about her.

Flinging open the door, she ran into his arms, crying all over again, this time with happiness. "Oh, Inuyasha, I'm so sorry!"

Pushing her back, his own tears threatening to fall, he shook her gently, replying, "Sorry? I'm the one who's sorry, Kikki, I never should have allowed her to do that. I feel awful about it. Will you ever forgive me?"

She laughed through her tears, and cried, "I'll always forgive you, Inuyasha! I love you!"

Pulling her close and hugging her tightly, he whispered in her ear, "I love you, too, Kikyou, more than my life. I will never leave you."

Kagome walked away, satisfied.

_Kikyou one, Kanna zero_.

**S.T.**

God bless it, to think that Kanna's only going to get worse... I love this story! It is so much fun, I can even forgive my stupid brain for its occasional bouts of writer's block! Sigh. Still feel shitty, but not so much. Musta been somethin' I ate. Oh well! Hehehe, I'll post again soon... but lots of reviews would make a spiffy Chrimmas present, lol! I love you guys!


	23. Chapter 23

Oh my God, dudes. This is **THE** chapter that will make you flip inside-out with anger!!!! Kanna has crossed the line from bitch to super-ultra-uber-bitch!! Anyway, without further delay, I will move on. Sigh, this story will be my undoing... Are you guys ready???

Deds:

**Mystical Hanyou** - You know, I used to hate her too, but I'm quite fond of her in this story. She's got the whole middle-child trauma thing going on, and, well... the tables will turn, I can tell you that much...

**Du Weldervarden Farcai** - I think the entire planet hates her because of me! Heehee! And to think she gets even worse! Gah! I expect to get words about her behaviour in this chappie, which is extra long because she's so _despicable_!

**cookiemonsterks** - You know, that's kinda funny, cuz she does get hurt - not nearly as bad as Kagura, but she still feels pain, only it doesn't leave a mark. Good suggestion, though!!

**Kitsune's Lover** - I forgive you, sleep is a bitch that way, making itself necessary... anyway, I get my ideas from... well, Rach is helpful. I tell her what I've been writing (since she STILL hasn't read this, I'm feeling sad about it), and she'll suggest good ideas, but a lot of them have just popped out of me. I really don't know where they come from, except the lapdance, the song London Bridge gave me that idea! Lol, anyway, thanks, and a Merry Chrimmas to you, and everyone else who reviewed! Happy New Year! Get drunk and party, like me!!

**Sweet Temptation**

The following morning, Kanna walked to school herself. She had a plan to put herself where the action was.

When Kagura came by her room that morning, Kanna was applying a smattering of blush to her cheeks. Kagura kept going, and soon Kanna heard the door slam below.

Leaving a few minutes later, she stepped out of her house and shook her head, allowing the sun to heat her pale skin. A red Mustang roared past, and she recognised Sesshoumaru. She waved, and he beeped the horn, but didn't stop.

_Hmm_, she thought absently, _must be losing my touch_.

Continuing down the street, she timed her sojourn to school just right, so that she was passing the Taisho's block when they came ripping around the corner, late as usual.

She started to run, and, just as they were about to pass her, she tripped - on purpose - and sprained her ankle, by accident, of course.

Miroku, who happened to be driving, slowed and pulled over. Kouga yelled from the backseat, "What the hell are you doing, asswipe? We're late enough as it is!"

"I'm being a good Samaritan," he growled, and turned around to crack his brother off the head.

Rolling down the window, Inuyasha looked up to see two shiny black pools staring back at him. Leaning out the window, he asked, "You alright, Kanna?"

_Now_, she thought, and her lip began to tremble.

"I'm fine," she mumbled, embarrassed, trying to get up. The brothers watched listlessly as she tried to get up twice more, but failed.

Inuyasha sighed. "Come on," he said, getting out and picking her up.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she clutched him to her as he slid her into the front seat, between himself and Miroku. Miroku looked at her with a lusty gaze, and her instincts immediately demanded that she set him straight. They were too much alike in nature, only he was harmless. She could not afford to have him get too fond of her.

"What are you looking at?" she hissed under her breath, and curled her lip at him. Miroku blinked. She was smiling now, only not at him.

_Did I just imagine that?_ He thought, puzzled.

The ride to school was brief, and Inuyasha was glad. No one talked the whole way, but he couldn't help but notice the way Kanna's shirt kept falling open at the collar and how his brother kept sneaking peaks there.

Pulling into the only space left, at the far end of the lot, Miroku cut the engine and announced, "Get out, asswipes." Kanna stifled a laugh. _He was at least amusing… _

Sliding across the seat, she let her sore foot dangle as they all got out and turned to look at her. She lowered her head and whispered, "I'm sorry. I'll walk inside myself, I can-"

But when she stood up, her ankle trembled and she went down, real tears coursing down her cheeks. Inuyasha crouched before her and pushed her hair away from her forehead, and when he did, it came loose of its clasp, and its silkiness flowed over his hand like a white wave. Ignoring its sweet, fruity scent, he said, "Hurry, or we'll be late again."

He scooped her up, and carried her up the three flights of steps into the school, followed solemnly by his brothers.

Inuyasha was worried. Kikyou would flip if she saw him now, and he had a weird feeling that that was what Kanna wanted. He practically ran to the Nurse's Office, and set her gently in a chair. "They'll take a look at that here, and put a tenser on it if you need it," he said, backing away.

She looked down at her hands in her lap, and then she looked up, bestowing on him her most seductive smile, practiced to a fault. He hesitated, before running from the room.

_It's working_, she thought, feeling only a little satisfied. _I'm getting under your skin, aren't I, Inuyasha? _

**S.T.**

Inuyasha ran up a flight of stairs and skidded into homeroom just as the bell rang, and all the girls cheered. He scowled; it had become somewhat of a tradition among them to see if he would arrive on time every day.

Taking his seat, he tried to slow his breaths as he tuned out announcements. _Two days until the dance_, his inner voice reminded him, and he smiled, thinking of Kikyou in a new dress. She and the girls were going dress shopping this afternoon; he was going to drive them to the Mall.

He began to imagine what Kikyou would look like in a dress (he'd never seen her in one), but her image began to fade and blur until he was staring at Kanna, and she was blowing him a kiss.

He jolted in his seat, and the guy next to him smacked his arm, saying, "Wake up, time to go." He shook his head. _What was happening to him?_ He loved Kikyou; why was he fantasising about Kanna?

_Because she keeps putting herself under your nose_, his inner voice whispered. _And if she stays there long enough, eventually you'll reach out and grab her_.

He frowned resolutely at everyone he passed in the hall, and when he got the boys' change room on the first floor, he was fuming. Dumping his binder and pen and peeling off his T-shirt, he looked up to see Juuromaru walk in.

_Oh yeah_, he thought, and when Juuromaru spotted him and set his things next to Inuyasha's, he remarked, "I know something you don't know."

Hopping around on one foot and trying not to fall on his ass as he pulled up his gym shorts, Inuyasha watched Juuromaru's thick brow rise until it disappeared under his flyaway bangs.

"Is that so?" he replied, removing his own shirt and revealing his impressive muscles. Pulling his jersey over his head, Inuyasha nodded and said, from under the fabric, "It is. Would you like me to tell you?"

Juuromaru chuckled. "If you feel it's necessary, knock yourself out."

Inuyasha stopped speaking then and didn't say another word until they were out in the gym with the other guys, playing a heated game of volleyball and watching the girls as they walked by single file, to play badminton on the other half of the floor.

Serving the ball, Juuromaru huffed, "You were about to tell me something?"

Inuyasha, his hands together, watching the ball bounce around on the opposite side of the net, smiled and breathed quickly. He'd forgotten - _again_.

"Yeah. See the brunette with the feather in her hair?" Juuromaru looked around. Spotting her, he recognised her as the girl he'd winked at a couple days before. "I see her."

Inuyasha was glad that Kagura's teacher had brought her class there that morning. Usually the classes were segregated, but today, the girls needed the gym and so did the guys, because the other gym was hosting a basketball game for the junior-high students, and the senior boys were using the weight room, so the sophomore girls were left with no option except to share the bigger gym with the junior guys.

"She's got the hots for you." Juuromaru grinned despite himself and looked at her again as they rotated positions. Now it was Inuyasha's turn to serve.

"Really?"

"She's melting over there, trust me." Inuyasha caught her eye, and winked.

She smiled at the floor. Juuromaru turned to look at him over his shoulder.

"How do you know all this?" Inuyasha grinned as he thought of Kikyou.

"She's my woman's best friend." Juuromaru nodded in understanding.

"She's cute."

"Why don't you ask her to the dance?" Juuromaru thought about it. He hadn't planned on going, since his buddies were having a party that night, and they didn't serve alcohol at the dance. Still, though, he thought he would like very much to get to know the brunette girl better.

"What's her name?"

"Kagura. Kagura Onigumo."

Juuromuaru stood up and spun around. "Wasn't she involved with some guy's death by that name? Is she a psycho?" Inuyasha sucked in a deep breath. He should have anticipated that.

"It was her Father who was killed, Juuromaru. She had no more to do with the whole ordeal than I did. It involved us only because my girl's sister and my brother were being pursued by her Father, and they killed him in self defense."

Juuromaru looked doubtful, but they rotated again and he seemed to have calmed down after a while. He'd never tell Inuyasha, but Kagura's past only increased his interest. _She was mysterious, alright_… he made up his mind to talk to her after school, when they could be alone.

**S.T.**

Kagura leaned over and tried to pretend she hadn't been staring. She felt so out of place here. None of her friends were in her gym class, and the gym they were supposed to play badminton in today was hosting a basketball game.

She sighed, but then she'd spotted Inuyasha, and she was about to wave to him in greeting when a flash of purple hair behind him stopped her in her tracks.

Juuromaru looked at her over his shoulder for an instant before returning his attention to the game, and now, as she took her position and served her birdie, she tried to resist the urge to turn and look at him.

Finally, after hitting the birdie more times than she could count, it hit the floor and it was the girl on the other side's turn to serve. She looked away for just a moment, and was admiring how Juuromaru's tight jersey revealed all his developed muscles, when something small and hard bounced off her head and landed next to her on the floor.

Looking down, she spied the birdie on the floor and looked up into the faces of the giggling girls around her. "Got something on your mind, Kagura?" they asked, and she burned with embarrassment. The last thing she needed right now was a bunch of nosy girls she didn't even know poking around in her love life, or lack of it. She decided to make them feel bad and replied sadly, "I was just thinking of my Father, actually."

The girls immediately stopped giggling and smiling. She narrowed her eyes, and the one on the left said, "Come on, let's play," and served the birdie.

This time, Kagura never took her eyes off of the small white wad of plastic. She feared that if she did, she'd make an even bigger fool of herself for staring.

**S.T.**

When Kagome came home from her shopping trip to the Mall that afternoon, she put all her new things away and wandered about the house, bored.

For a while she blasted some dance music and cleaned the house, but when she was done that she had nothing to do. _Whose idea was it that I stay home again?_ She thought, mentally cursing herself.

She supposed she could do laundry… again…

She rubbed her belly absently. It was still as flat as a board and showed no sign of the child growing inside her at all. Looking up, she saw Amaya walk through her own kitchen past the window, and thought, _Why not?_

Crossing her backyard, she leaned over the fence. Amaya was hanging out the boys' laundry. "Good afternoon, Kagome. Buy anything exciting today?"

Kagome smiled. "I bought some new clothes. Hopefully they'll still fit after this one comes." She nodded toward her gut. Amaya smiled.

She remembered how happy she was when she'd found out that she was pregnant with Sesshoumaru, and, putting down the wet shirt in her hands, suggested, "Why don't you go grab a jacket and come over for a while? I'll finish this and then we can talk - woman to woman. What do you say?"

Kagome grinned. "You got a deal, Little Mother!" Amaya smiled as she watched Kagome run home.

_Little Mother… huh!_

She shook her head, and laughed. Kagome was such a gem. She was so glad Sesshoumaru had fallen in love with her.

When Kagome came back, she and Amaya sat next to the pool and discussed men, babies, weddings, and family all afternoon, and early into the evening.

When Daichi found them, they were asleep, Kagome on the patio next to Amaya's chair, her head in Amaya's lap, and Amaya's hand stroking Kagome's hair.

He smiled, and let them sleep. _What a pair_, he thought.

**S.T.**

Kikyou waited at her locker for Inuyasha. Kagura had gone to the bathroom, and would be back soon.

She looked at her watch. He was late.

_You better not have forgotten_, she thought, huffing, and crossing her arms, one leg holding her up as she propped the other against her locker underneath her.

When Kagura came back, she spotted Sango and Ayame coming, pulling Rin. There was no sign of her sister.

_Thank God_, she thought, feeling unburdened for once.

Kikyou was tapping her fingers against her arm in agitation. Her sisters crowded in and smiled at her and Kagura.

"Have you seen Kanna today?" Kagura asked them.

"Nope."

"Nada."

"No, thank God." Kagura smiled at Rin.

"Try living under the same roof with the skank," she joked, even though she was serious, but she got a smile out of Rin anyway.

Kikyou shook her head in anger. "If he's not here in five minutes, we're taking the bus." Sango's brows went up, and Ayame frowned. "You mad at him or something?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kikyou fumed. She was feeling insecure again. She hadn't seen him all day. _Was it just a coincidence that no one had seen Kanna, either? _Just the thought of him with her made her guts churn, and her blood boil.

When five minutes had passed, with no sign of Inuyasha, Kikyou was fed up. "Let's go. I'll deal with him later. _If _there is a later."

Kagura looked at Sango, worried. _What was going on between Inuyasha and Kikyou? _

**S.T.**

Inuyasha slammed his locker shut, and waved to his friends. Juuromaru stopped him when he passed his locker. "Look, something's come up. I gotta go home right away. Will you tell Kagura not to get a date for the dance?"

He grinned, devilishly. "Does that mean you want to take her?"

Juuromaru returned the grin. "You know it."

Inuyasha nodded. "I'll tell her."

"Thanks, man." He'd continued on his way, stopping at Miroku's locker to get the keys to the car. He was about to run up to Kikyou's locker to meet her and the girls, when an arm snaked out and yanked him into the girl's bathroom.

**S.T.**

Kanna looked at her face in the mirror, and pouted her lips, then blotted her lipstick with the pathetic excuse for toilet paper this school used.

_What is this?_ She thought, as part of it stuck when she pulled it away. _Like, point five ply? Hell!_

Redoing it, she didn't bother to blot this time. The red lipstick glimmered on her lips, shining in the glare from the overhead light. She backed up and looked at her body in the mirror. The enormous bag she'd brought with her this morning had carried not only her books, but a spare change of clothes.

She had one day left. The dance was tomorrow. It was now or never if she was going to steal Inuyasha from Kikyou and get him to take her to the dance.

She'd changed into a black bra, with a lacy white tank top over it, and a very short denim skirt. Her thong, orange and pink, was visible above her beltline. She wanted very little to impede his way.

She looked at the clock on the wall. She'd skipped her last class - sex ed, ironically - to come here and prepare. Only a few girls had come in since then, and had left in a hurry. They weren't accustomed to being growled at for having to pee.

Leaning out the door, she spotted him. He was coming close, too. She grinned. _This was it!_

Snatching his arm, she flicked the light off with one hand, and locked the door behind them as soon as he was in.

Inuyasha was quiet, before he gritted, "Who's in here? What's going on?"

Kanna laughed. "Don't tell me you don't recognise me, Inuyasha."

Running her hands over his chest, she began to pull his sweaty jersey out of his pants, then ventured her hands underneath it, to glide over his bare skin.

He wanted to turn around, to leave, but… _was this Kikyou?_ His instincts told him no, but he wanted to believe so much that it was, and she was surprising him. And he would hate to disappoint her…

Kanna leaned close and guided his hands to the zip on her skirt, then helped him pull off her shirt. She pulled his jersey over his head and let her tongue lap at his Adam's Apple, and when he swallowed, bumping her nose, she laughed, a throaty sound, that pushed him over the edge he'd been tenaciously clinging to.

He became eager in her arms, and soon had her up against the wall, kissing her fervently, murmuring over and over again, "Kikyou, Kikyou…"

Kanna let him pull off her bra, and she ran her fingers through his silky white hair, so much like her own, only musky smelling, as he explored her naked torso.

He pushed her skirt off her hips. _When had Kikyou gotten so skinny?_ He thought, before lust overtook him.

She pulled his belt out of his pants, and threw it on the floor, then, as he burrowed his face in her neck, sucking her porcelain skin, she yanked his baggy jeans down, and reached inside his boxers, expertly finding all his sensitive spots and working them.

He pressed her right up to the wall, eager to get inside her, but her thong was blocking him. Growling, he hooked a thumb under it and she whispered in his ear, licking the lobe, "Rip it."

Doing as she bade him, he ripped it off of her, not hearing her small cry of pain, and burrowed inside of her, and she brought a leg up to wrap around his waist, allowing him easier access to her.

He palpated her chest and began to breath hard as she leaned back and let him do his thing. He was satisfied so quickly, she encouraged him to go again, and within ten minutes he had his second climax.

_You poor thing_, she thought pitifully, _how long has she been torturing you?_

Finally too tired to go a third time, he eased out of her and kissed her, running his fingers along her cheek, but she pulled away, and flicked on the bathroom light.

The colour drained from his face as he saw just who he had made love to - twice.

"K - Kanna?" he stuttered, appalled. She laughed. "Don't act so surprised, Inuyasha. I knew it was only a matter of time before you would stop resisting me."

He slumped to his knees on the floor, looking at his hands in horror. He had… _with these hands_… suddenly he felt incredibly dirty. And in the back of his mind he'd known all along…

She tossed him his pants, and changed back into the clothes she'd worn that morning, not at all self-conscious about being naked before him in the light. She had nothing to hide, anyway. "Look, if it makes you feel any better, I won't tell her what happened."

He looked up, and croaked, "What? Why? You hate Kikyou!"

"And she hates me. What's your point? I have a favour to ask of you. Unfortunately, you have no choice but to grant it to me, since I know your little secret."

He pulled on his pants, and began to tremble with apprehension at her words. _What would she ask of him?_

"Spit it out," he gritted, anger finally taking over.

She smiled. "There's the hellcat I know and love to play with," she said, throwing her bag over her shoulder and reaching out to stroke him where she knew he liked it, but he grabbed her wrist and twisted it, hard. It hurt, but she bit her tongue. She refused to show him any weakness. She held all the cards; he had no choice but to obey her.

"Take me to the dance. That's all."

"That's all?"

"For now." She grinned, and gently traced his chin with her fingertip. "Don't look so sad, Inuyasha. You enjoyed it, didn't you?"

He frowned, and dug his fingernails into his scalp. He was going to go insane with guilt. _Because he had enjoyed it, very much so_.

She chuckled softly. "Poor Inuyasha, slept with the wrong girl. Too bad. But you know, there's more where that came from. I'd never deny you, Inuyasha. After all, she's been starving your sexual appetite. At least I'll spoil it."

And, she left him there, where he curled up into a ball in the corner, and for the first time since seeing his Mother again after five years of absence a few weeks ago, he cried.

**S.T.**

Kikyou picked a red dress off the rack and held it up to herself, then put it back. Her guts were churning; her heart just wasn't in this anymore.

Kagura kept glancing at her nervously, but Sango was certain that she would find a way around her grouchiness and forgive him. She'd heard from Kagome about their tearful reunion last night, and thought for sure this little tiff would resolve itself too. _Before the dance, I hope_.

Kagura wasn't so sure, though. Kikyou was really mad, and she knew it had something to do with her sister, Kanna. Frowning in concentration, Kagura decided to take matters into her own hands.

"Here Kikyou. Try this one on." She handed her friend a short, skin-tight, stretch denim one piece skirt outfit, in white. Kikyou looked at it doubtfully but Kagura nodded. "Try it. I think it'll look great on you."

When Kikyou had disappeared into the change rooms, Kagura opened her purse and took out her cell phone. Sango came over. "What are you doing?"

Kagura smiled. "Setting things straight. Let me now how she likes that skirt." She began to leave the store. Sango watched her go.

_You go, Kagura. Get that bitch! _

**S.T.**

Kagura climbed into the cab she'd called for.

"Eight hundred Shinjiro Drive," she instructed the driver, and he whistled.

"Uppercrust, eh? Why don't you have a limo?" She glared at him in the rear-view mirror. "Will you just drive, please?"

"Ok ok, don't get your knickers in a twist," he mumbled, and she sat back, hard. She hadn't realised that she'd been leaning forward in apprehension until he'd nailed the gas pedal and momentum had forced her back.

When the houses outside her window began to get bigger, her gut flipped over. _Kanna was going to get a piece of her mind, and she'd definitely choke on it. _

Kagura began to breath deeply. She anticipated a very big fight with her sister, though God knew that Kanna was even worse when she was being passive-aggressive. That was just plain annoying. Kagura wanted a reaction out of her this time, but she still wasn't sure if she would get it.

As the driver pulled over, she searched her purse for more cash but the deeper she dug, the less cash she found. Finally, she whipped out her credit card that was for emergencies only, and, ripping it out of the driver's hand as he handed it back to her, she jumped out of the cab and ran up the front walk, flinging open the door and slamming it shut with a vengeance behind her.

The slam echoed throughout the house; Kaede wasn't home.

_Good_. She thought, dropping her purse and phone by the door on a table with a dish for keys and a portable phone.

Stomping up the stairs, Kagura could see light coming from her sister's room. She reached the top in record time, but Kanna had music playing, and had heard none of the noise Kagura had been making.

The strains of "Baby Got Back" were blaring from Kanna's stereo by the door, and when Kagura looked in, she saw Kanna standing before her full-length silver mirror, holding up shirt after shirt to herself. Finally choosing a long black shirt with a neck-tight collar and a button up seam following the Japanese style, she sat at her vanity and began to apply her eye make-up.

She finally spied Kagura watching her in the mirror and remarked, "My, my, aren't we sour today? Why the big pucker, Kagura?"

Kagura strode into her sister's room and did the most physically aggressive thing to another person she'd ever done. Knotting her fist in a handful of Kanna's hair, she yanked her up to a standing position and held her right up close to her own face.

"Where is he??"

Kanna let her vent her anger. Passive-aggressive reactions had always served her well in the past, no matter how much pain she might have to endure. _After all, Kagura's pain would inevitably be greater_.

"Who? Kagura, calm down. What are you talking about?"

Kagura was inflamed. _She was ten times better at manipulation than Father had **ever** been! She was a regular little actress_.

Kagura would have the truth from her.

"You know exactly who I'm talking about. Where were you all day today?"

She smiled innocently, since she was telling the truth. "I was at school. Will you let go now, please?"

"I will not. Where were you after school?"

Kanna was beginning to lose her passive-aggressiveness. She was starting to get angry. "Why do you care? What's with this fucking interrogation?"

"I care very much, _little sister_. Inuyasha has been missing since after school today. Where is he? I _know_ you know."

Kanna realised that her plans were going to get out sooner or later, but regardless, there was nothing Kagura could do to save him now. He had already committed the ultimate crime a man can commit against the woman he loves: adultery.

Smiling evilly, she finally replied, "If I tell you, will you let go of my hair?"

"That depends on the severity of your explanation. Now spill it!"

Kagura shook Kanna's head violently, and her scalp burned. She held her tongue against the pain, but her smouldering black eyes betrayed her real pain. Kagura tightened her grip the longer Kanna remained silent.

"_Today_, Kanna. I'm in no mood to put up with your shit. You'll go to that dance with a shiner if I find it necessary."

Kanna finally gave in. If anything, she was vainer about her appearance than a peacock. No secret was worth getting an enormous ugly bruise over.

"Not that it really matters, but he's probably still at school."

Kagura shook her head again, bringing her nose within centimetres of her own. "What do you mean?"

Kanna hissed in pain, and tried to loosen her sister's grip, but Kagura held on like a bulldog, and screamed, "Tell me, or you're going with two black eyes!"

Kanna hated to give her sister any satisfaction, since she got so little of it herself. But she could see no other way to get her sister off her back. "He's in the girl's lavatory on the second floor. Or he was when I left. He's taking _me_ to the dance tomorrow night."

Kagura was so surprised that she loosened her fingers and Kanna immediately slipped out of her reach, rubbing her head vigorously. "You happy now? My hair might never recover!"

Kanna checked it in the mirror. Besides being an angry red, her scalp and hair appeared undamaged.

Kagura's mouth was still working, but no sound came out. Then her eyes darkened, and Kanna was struck by how much she resembled their late Father when he was furiously angry.

"What did you do, Kanna? Why did you leave him in the girl's bathroom at school?"

Kanna smiled evilly at her sister in the mirror. She was going to tell her the truth - her version of it, anyway. She knew he'd never tell. _And neither would Kagura, once she knew. _

"I fucked him, Kagura. He couldn't resist me. And he _liked_ it. I promised him I wouldn't spill his little secret if he took me to the dance. And he will take me, Kagura. If you interfere… well, Kikyou will just have to learn of your involvement here. I trust you care for her too much to even consider telling her what you've just learned? It would break her heart to hear it, especially from you, her best friend. Can you willingly hurt her like that?"

Kagura was struck dumb by her sister's frankly shrewd explanation, but her dark anger made a swift comeback.

"You little fucking slut!" Kagura screamed, and lunged for her sister, but Kanna was ready for her.

She swiftly moved out of her sister's reach, and out the door. Kagura followed, hot on her heels and screaming like a banshee, when Kanna ducked, causing Kagura to skid and trip over her, and then, standing upright, Kanna ran back to her room, Kagura coming up behind her like a bull with its balls in a knot.

Kanna slammed the door, but not in time; Kagura's wrist has been between it and the jamb, and there was a sickening crunch as Kagura's wrist was shattered from the force of the blow.

She screamed, and Kanna opened the door a fraction, so she could pull it out, but as she stared at the hot tears of her sister, streaming in rivulets down her splotchy face, clutching her hand in agony, she remembered how Kagura had cruelly gripped her hair, and how she'd cold-bloodedly called her a slut. Kanna knew she was a slut, but to have her sister call her that to her face… was unforgivable.

She gripped the doorknob with fierce determination. Kagura still had not moved her arm out of harm's way, and, before Kanna could lose her nerve, she slammed the door on her sister's hand again.

This time, Kagura's screams were heard all down the block, and on the next block, a flock of crows took to the sky at the horrific sounds coming from the spacious house at Eight hundred Shinjiro Drive.

**S.T.**

Inuyasha wandered the streets. It was six at night, and his cell phone had rung eight times, but he'd not bothered to answer.

He just wanted to be alone.

Stumbling into a skate park, he watched as the younger guys did ollies and flips on their boards; one kid had a Hedley deck, and he smiled at Inuyasha in a way that made him wish he were young enough to have no cares again.

He slumped down on a bench and leaned his head back, so he could stare at the sky. _How could I have been so stupid?_ He fumed. _How could I have let her trick me like that?_

_But you didn't_, his inner voice interrupted, and he leaned forward, clenching his forehead between his hands. You _knew it was her, but you let her lead you anyway. You are scum._

_Tell me about it._ He began to feel tears stinging his eyes again, and he abruptly stood up, and walked out of the skate park. He wandered until it was dark and no one would take any notice of his red eyes and wet cheeks.

**S.T.**

Kikyou had taken Kagura's advice and bought the white denim skirt suit. She had liked how it fit her curves, despite her black mood, and to top it all off, it turned out that it was on sale.

She thought maybe things would start looking up. She and her sisters, who'd all found something new, piled onto the bus and rode it home, Kikyou's mind far away.

Kagura had disappeared, and no one knew where she'd gone, though Sango had her suspicions, but she never shared them.

Kikyou went straight to her room when they got home. Throwing her new outfit aside, on top of a mountain of her favourite clothes (this being a sign that the outfit had been accepted into her culture and was now part of her most prized wardrobe), she turned on her discman and laid back on her bed, playing depressing songs and letting her tears run unchecked.

**S.T.**

Holy hell, who's ready to kill her? Wait, we can't kill her yet, I have plans for her and the Jewel, and a new friend... but, I have to write all that, so hold onto your hats. She also may just try to steal Juuromaru... look out Kagura! Kanna's on the warpath, and Kanna always gets her way! Lol, like I mentioned before, I need an announcer guy! Review me, I cannot live without them! (Ok, I can, but I don't like to.) Please! They are like souls, I neeeed them!!! Besides, what she did was _horrific_. How can you help but comment???


	24. Chapter 24

Well, I last posted before New Years' and this is what I get!? One review!? What the hell? Do you guys hate me _again_? Am I making this too boring? Jesus, shoot me! I'm gonna cry if I don't get some feedback! Wah! I'm such a whiner, please overlook me, hehee.

Deds:

**Mystical Hanyou** - Feel proud, you're the only person to review! Sniffle, and what a review it was! I could really feel your hate, makes me proud to know that I've made her despicable enought to make you want to whack her... Oh, how twisted my little mind is! This chapter's all for you, my loyal pet! Oh, and Kagura'll be ok, just an ugly bolted cast to remeber the incident by... (makes weird face).

**Sweet Temptation**

Kagura stumbled down the stairs, her wrist mashed to a bloody pulp. Holding it tightly with her other hand, the shock having worn off at the sight of her own blood pumping at a furious rate out of her broken skin, not to mention the severe pain which was now fading into numbness, she pushed open the door and walked down the street. She wandered until she found herself on Kikyou's front porch, and pushed the bell with a bloody finger.

Kagome opened the door, and her face went white when she saw Kagura's hand.

"Oh my god! Sesshoumaru!"

Sesshoumaru came running, a wooden spoon in his hand, Ayame and Sango on his heels.

Rin looked up from her homework at the kitchen table as her sisters and Sesshoumaru brought a shaking Kagura into the kitchen, her hand a bloody mess. Kagome touched her wrist, and she let out a pitiful whimper, and Kagome nodded at Sesshoumaru. "It's broken."

He looked at it from every angle he could and replied, "Broken? It's shattered!"

Kagura sobbed then, She had feared that that would be the case. _Would they have to amputate her hand? Was it salvageable at all?_ "Come on, we have to get her to the Emergency room," Kagome said, and Sesshoumaru turned to Sango. "Get Kikyou. She'll want to go, too." Sango nodded, and, running from the room, rounded a corner and skidded to a halt in front of her sister's door.

When she didn't answer Sango's pounding, Sango burst in and found her laying on her bed, her face soaked and her music blaring in her ears. Shaking her, Kikyou jumped out of her skin and screamed, "What?" Sango yanked out her earphones and replied, "Kagura's wrist has been shattered, but she's still in shock and can't tell us what happened. We're taking her to the hospital. Come on!"

**S.T.**

Inuyasha came home and closed the door behind him, just as Sesshoumaru opened Kagome's front door and loaded all his women into his Mustang and rushed Kagura to the hospital.

He kicked off his high-tops and dejectedly climbed the stairs to his room.

He just wanted to die.

Flopping onto his bed, he felt the tell-tale sensation of tears stinging his eyes again and threw an arm over his face as someone walked by, then stopped and came into his room. "Inuyasha?" It was Miroku.

"What?"

Miroku knew that tone of voice. It was rare, but he'd heard it a few times before. _His brother was hurting_. "What's wrong?"

Inuyasha rolled over and hated himself for crying; men weren't supposed to let their emotions get the better of them. "Nothing. Fuck off." He sniffled, and curled into a ball.

Miroku sighed. _You are such an ass sometimes, Inuyasha_. "Well, I'm here, when you want to talk about it." Getting up, he left.

Inuyasha began to shake. _Get a hold of yourself, you pussy! Act like a man!_ But he couldn't. Closing his eyes, he forgot about everything except what Kikyou would do when she found out, and he tossed and turned all night, her sad face haunting his dreams.

**S.T.**

Kanna modelled another outfit in the mirror. She felt no remorse for what she'd done to Kagura. _Bitch, you deserved it._

Kaede came home from visiting her sister, but went straight to bed. Kanna wasn't about to tell her what had happened, but she felt relief when Kaede failed to notice the tiny droplets of blood that dotted the floor from her room to the front door, and that Kagura's room was dark.

She hummed to herself dreamily as she picked through her extensive collection of dresses and skirts. Being rich had its upsides; one being that she didn't have to go shopping. She had more than enough to choose from. Her only problem was decided which outfit flattered her shape the most.

She wondered absently where Kagura had gone. _Probably to Kikyou's. Only they would give a shit about what happened to her_… but not for long, not if Kanna had her way. And she was rarely denied her way.

**S.T.**

Kikyou looked at the X-Ray. It showed the outline of Kagura's hand, but the bones inside were a blur. She held Kagura's good hand tightly.

The doctors had asked her what she'd done to her hand, but she'd lied, and told them she'd smashed it in a car door. Kikyou knew she was hiding something, though.

The doctors left the room to consult with a bone doctor, and Kagura hugged her injured arm, her pulpy hand shaking. They had wrapped a bandage around it for now; they had wanted to X-Ray it before making a cast, if that was the case, but it looked like it would be more complicated than just a cast. But, seeing that X-Ray… Kikyou was worried. _Could you fix a shattered hand?_

Kagura was sweating something awful and her breathing was laboured. She was beginning to hyperventilate. "Kagura, calm down," Kikyou soothed, rubbing her back gently.

Soon, Kagura's breaths slowed to normal.

"Tell me," Kikyou said in a low voice, and Kagura looked at her, fear dancing in her deep brown eyes, and she sighed resolutely. "There's nothing to tell. What I said was true."

Kikyou frowned, frustrated. _Why wouldn't Kagura talk to her?_ But she didn't push any further.

One of the doctors came back then, and sighed. "We're going to try and set your hand, Kagura, but we have to operate and remove the shards of bone that penetrated your skin. We're keeping you overnight. Do you have a parent or anyone you can call?"

She nodded, and the doctor smiled apologetically, but Kikyou could take a hint. Waving goodbye, she left the room.

Meeting her family in the waiting room, she told them what the doctor had said, but nothing more. The ride home was stone silent, and uncomfortable, but Kikyou was unaware of it. She was too lost in her own misery to care.

**S.T.**

Kanna looked up when the doorbell rang. Sticking her head out of her room, she saw Kaede's light come on and called, "It's alright, Kaede, I'll get it!"

Running down the stairs, she flung the door open, expecting to see some type of authority figure, but instead of a hot cop at her door, only a hot guy stood on the porch, his hand in his pocket and a lop-sided grin on his face. He had long, purple hair.

_Juuromaru?  
_

"Hi, is Kagura home?"

Kanna smiled. "Are you Juuromaru?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I came to ask Kagura to be my date for the dance tomorrow night."

Kanna's mind shifted into overdrive. She laughed self-deprecatingly.  
"I'm sorry, Juuromaru, but Kagura's out just now. I really don't feel comfortable answering for her in her absence. Would you like to come in and wait for her?"

He hesitated._ Was this girl a relative?_ If she was Kagura's sister, they looked nothing alike. _She was pretty hot, though_…

He pulled his hand out of his pocket to run it through his thick hair, and replied, "Sure, why not? Will she be home soon?"

Kanna grinned girlishly. "I really don't know, but if she's not here in an hour, I'll call her cell."

"Thanks"

Kanna shut the door after him, and led him into the living room, leaving him there while she went to the kitchen for drinks for the two of them.

_Jesus_, she thought, feeling anxious for the first time in a long while, _I've been so busy plotting against Kikyou that I haven't even begun to think up a plan for Kagura's man!  
_

She racked her mind for something to talk to him about. When she handed him his Long Island Iced Tea, and sat across from him with a coke for herself, she decided that maybe she'd let him do all the talking, and then take the conversation from there.

But Juuromaru didn't say much, just complimanted the house and sipped his Iced Tea, glancing at his watch every few minutes or so.

Kanna began to grow impatient. Taking matters into her own hands, she got up and sat down next to him. He smiled pleasantly at her, but his mind was working overtime.

She leaned in, whispering, "She really does like you, you know…", and he began to lean into her, when his heart skipped a beat and a big red flag went up.

Coughing, he stood and said, "I just remembered that I left my car running," and he ran from the house. Kanna eyed his unfinished drink and then without hesitation threw it back, licking her lips. She locked the door behind him and watched as he sped away, his tires spinning and a cloud of smoke hanging lazily in his wake.

_Scared you, didn't I?  
_

Smiling, she went to her room, closed the door, and flopped onto her bed, asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She dreamed that all her sister's friends obeyed her every whim, and she had a pink ball in her hand that ensured her commands, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get a good look at that ball, or figure out where she could get it, or one like it..

She settled on being content with the jealous looks on all the girls' faces as their guys hovered around her, ready and willing to do anything she asked.

**S.T.**

Kikyou rolled over and opened her eyes. She squeezed them shut against the sunlight that poured into her room, and wished it were raining. Rain would suit her mood: miserable.

Kagome opened her door. "Kikyou, come on, time for school."

Kikyou sniffled, against her will. "I don't feel well."

Kagome smiled sadly at her little sister. _She was hurting again_.

Sango had filled her in last night when they'd gotten home, after Kikyou had gone to bed. She had shaken her head in disappointment. Later, in bed, she asked Sesshoumaru what he thought.

"Well, I've never known Inuyasha to stand anyone up on purpose. He probably has a good excuse."

But Kagome wasn't so sure. She began to feel anxious again, the way she had when Naraku had been after the Jewel. She placed her hand over her heart, and felt the Jewel within it pulse once, sending a vibration through her bones, but it warmed her hand all the same.

She put her other hand to her belly. _What if someone else came after the Jewel?_ She wanted more than anything to be wrong, and hoped her feelings of premonition would fade. But her fear held on; something was going to happen, she didn't know what, but the feeling that it had something to do with her and the Sacred Jewel refused to leave her.

Taking pity on Kikyou, Kagome asked, "Would you like to stay home with me today?"

Kikyou nodded, and tears spilled over her nose and into her other eye at her sister's intuitive offer. Kagome, herself, felt that today would be a good opportunity to discuss with Kikyou her own feelings.

Kikyou rolled over and smiled at her, and Kagome sat on the edge of her bed, pushing her messy bangs back and saying, "It'll be girls' day in, just you and me."

Kikyou nodded again, and Kagome stood, leaving her to sleep some more.

Sango hefted her bag and asked Kagome, "Where's Kikki?"

"She's a bit under the weather, today. I'm letting her stay home."

Sango nodded; she understood her sister's reasons.

Ayame coughed. "I think I'm sick Kag-"

Kagome pointed at the door. "Get!"

**S.T.**

Inuyasha grudgingly pulled off his boxers and flopped back on his bed. He dreaded school today, and having to tell Kikyou that he was taking Kanna to the dance. He didn't know which would be worse; telling Kikyou he cheated or cancelling their date.

He despised the feeling of wretchedness in his blood. It overflowed his brain made him entertain thoughts of killing himself. _Was he that desperate to keep his infidelity from her?  
_

He knew she'd be angry as it was, standing her up like that. His mind kept trying to remind him that it was her name he'd been calling in his ecstasy, but his heart couldn't forget the nasty girl he'd actually been with. He hated her, wanted to throttle the life from her… but he couldn't do that, either.

He dragged himself to the bathroom and avoided Miroku's meaningful look as he passed him in the hall. He still didn't want to tell anyone about his horrible mistake.

Turning on the water, he waited until it was steaming before stepping under and letting the heat numb away his nerve endings, until he could not even feel the pressure of the water pounding against his face.

Scrubbing his body, he washed his long hair next and then got out, eyeing his reflection in the mirror.

_I may as well have_ cheater _tattooed across my forehead_, he thought, despairing the guilty look on his face.

His Father's razor sat on the side of the sink, and he looked at it for a long time, thinking about the blood trickling from his slashed wrists and how his family would not discover him until he was long gone…

He shook his head. As easy as suicide seemed, he could not bring himself to take the easy way out. He owed Kikyou that much. As much as he was suffering now, he knew she would suffer more if he were to do something like that, and her suffering was the last thing he wanted.

Staring hard at his reflection, he vowed that he would tell Kikyou the truth. How, or when, he hadn't yet decided, but that wasn't important yet. As long as it was her he took to the dance and not that manipulative bitch Kanna, he would be happy. All he had to do was confess to Kikyou before Kanna could tell her, and turn her against him, and he had to tell her soon.

Smiling for the first time since it had happened, he felt a lot better.

He had a plan.

**S.T.**

Kagura walked home slowly, the early morning sun warming her back and taking the chill off the morning air, the night's fog clearing around her as she stood before her house, large and forbidding.

Her sister was in there.

Kagura felt unrepentant rage well up within her. Her sister would pay for her misdeeds, would pay with every fibre of her being, Kagura would see to it.

Opening the door, she was disappointed to see Kaede's keys gone. She had hoped to show her her plaster-casted hand, shot through with steel bolts to help her hand heal normally. It was painful as hell, but the Nurse had given her a prescription for an extra-strength painkiller before she discharged her. She wondered if they would make her drowsy.

Climbing the stairs silently, she saw her own dried blood dotting the carpet here and there, smeared by a foot in some places, dried to a crust and untouched in others.

Closing her bedroom door behind her, noting that Kanna's door was also closed, and the light snoring that came from there, she opened her book bag and carefully put all her things inside. She wondered briefly how she would take notes, since it was her right hand that was broken, but she supposed if she explained her teachers would photocopy them for her. Or at least she hoped they would.

Sneaking back out, the only difference in her appearance being her bag and a different shirt, she left the house and headed for Kikyou's.

They had a lot to discuss.

**S.T.**

Kanna stretched luxuriously as she glanced at her bed-side alarm clock.

Eight.

She stretched again and pulled herself out of bed, heading for the shower.

Kagura's door was still closed when she passed it, not at all concerned about when her sister would come home.

She turned up the radio loud as she hopped under the warm spray in the spacious, marble-tiled shower. The floor of the bathroom was warm underfoot, and her dry towels were heating in the towel compartment next to the sink, which gleamed from overhead lamps and gold taps mounted on a fine porcelain sink, a large vanity mirror hanging on the wall above it.

She wondered what the day would hold for her. Tonight was the dance, and she knew what to expect, but what would happen before then… she couldn't say, but she didn't really care, either. The pink ball in her dream had not left her mind, and she continued to think about it as she blow-dried her hair and dressed in a flattering pair of Kagura's chicest blue high-tops, a baby-blue tee that read _Sexy_ across the front, and a white pair of jeans, ripped off at the calf.

Throwing her books over her shoulder in a white bag, she left the house, locking the large front doors behind her.

She watched dispassionately as Sesshoumaru drove by, though he only smiled at her this time.

She ignored him.

The wind picked up as she walked, and storm clouds began to gather on the horizon. The sun still warmed her back, but she was hoping it didn't rain; she'd forgotten to bring an umbrella.

_Oh well_, she thought carelessly, _I'll just get Inuyasha to drive me home_.

She got to school without running into anyone she knew. This fact didn't please her, nor did it worry her. She'd enjoyed the quiet.

She listened to announcements half-heartedly in her homeroom, too busy planning what she was going to wear that night.

**S.T.**

Inuyasha was the last to leave the house, quickly kissing his Mother goodbye and waving at his Father as he blew by him out the door. Hopping in the passenger seat, he smiled at Miroku, who raised a brow in return, but made no comment.

They drove to school, just making it to class by the skin of their teeth - as usual.

**S.T.**

Well, not much happening, but hey, you gotta get yer boring shit outta the way if yer gonna clear room for exciting stuff. Hope everyone had a happy New Years'! Rach got sick, so I took care of her, and some weird, 30 year old guy stayed over at her place with us without asking... to say the least, it was AWKWARD. He was such a cretant, too! And our other friend ruined our fun at the dance, that bitchy whiner. Anyway, review me, I'm sadly lacking! Uplift me, inspire me, dammit, just talk to me!!! Please??


	25. Chapter 25

Okay, let's see... I'm bored, and work is pissing me off, and I have to take my laptop back to Costco this weekend cuz its a piece of crap (an under-warranty piece of crap, thank god), and my mom and sister bitched me out, so I'm a little bummed, as you can see. Maybe this will help me feel better.

Deds:

**cookiemonsterks** - I'm sorry I overlooked you, the bot is a fucker! Grr! Anyway, I loved your little ditty about running Kanna over with reindeer... that was so cute! She would deserve it, too. I'm getting to a point now where she will move on to try and get something from someone... but shhh, I can't tell, or it won't be a secret anymore!

**anime-lover-forever2007** - You naughty girl! Murder by car? AUTOCIDE!!! I think you and cookiemonster up there are sharing a dorm room! You two think very much alike, though I guess no matter how you look at it, Kanna is evil, and must die, or at least suffer copiously. Anyhoo, sorry I overlooked you too, I think if the bot were a person I'd have choked the life from it by now...

(Excuse me while I check for more reviewers, I hate to miss anyone...)

Oh, yay, and a review from my best buddy, **Rachel**, who hasn't actually read this story yet, but has made progress by copying and saving all six of my stories to her laptop yesterday while we were at Tango's. You go, Glenn Cocoa, and read them!! (I know where you live, so you'd better, dammit!) /shakes fist threateningly/

**Sweet Temptation**

Kagura glanced at the time on her cell phone, and noticed once again the little bump on the back of it, just under her palm.

As she pushed the doorbell of Kikyou's house with her good hand, wiping the blood off it from the night before, hoping she hadn't missed Kikyou, she flipped the phone over and peeled the bump off. She made a face as it stuck to her fingers, clinging tenaciously. Flinging her hand around vigorously, it finally came off and landed on the brick of the house, gravity peeling it off its weak perch and tumbling it into the dirt of the garden, hidden underneath lattice and big thorny rose bush.

Kagome opened the door and smiled. "Kagura, how's your hand?"

She held it up for Kagome to see and chuckled wryly. "It's been better, but they tell me it'll heal."

Kagome covered her mouth at the sight of Kagura's white-clad hand, the steel bolts making her stomach turn at the thought of how much pain it must have caused her.

Holding the door open for Kagura, Kagome managed to control her gut and said, "Kikyou's staying home today. I think what happened yesterday really got to her, not to mention your accident. I'll see if she went back to sleep."

Kagura sighed in relief. _Thank God, she hadn't missed her!  
_

Kagome came back.a moment later to find Kagura struggling to untie her shoes, and volunteered, "Let me help you, hun."

Kagura sat back, breathed, "Thanks," and dropped her heavy bag on the floor.

Kagome smiled. "Kikyou was happy to hear that you came. She's just jumped in the shower, she'll be out in a bit."

"Alright." Kagura was glad, she had hoped to spend a little time alone with Kagome.

Leading her into the kitchen, Kagome asked, "Have you had breakfast yet? I'll make you eggs if you want."

Kagura smiled. "I would like that very much, thank you."

Kagome grinned. "No prob. Kikyou loves scrambled eggs with mushroom soup. You'll like it too, it's _really_ good."

Sitting at the table, Kagura wrinkled her nose, but didn't comment. _That sounded gross!  
_

Kagome glanced at her bag by the doorway to the living room and asked as she pried open the soup can, "You weren't planning on going to school today, were you? Not with a freshly broken wrist?"

Kagura nodded. "I was hoping that I wouldn't miss her. If I had, I would have followed her to school. I have a lot of things I need to speak with her about."

Kagome nodded and broke several eggs into the frying pan. "I get the feeling she has a lot on her mind, as well. I don't think she took Inuyasha's standing her up last night well at all."

Kagura blinked. "How do you know about that?"

"Sango told me."

"Oh."

Kagome looked at Kagura from the corner of her eye. "She also told me that she thinks you weren't telling the truth last night about your hand, either."

Kagura hung her head. She had wanted to tell someone so badly, and now her chance had come, but she feared saying too much, so she only said what was necessary.

"Kanna broke my hand."

Kagome continued to cook, scrambling the eggs and mixing in the soup, then sprinkling the yellow muck with pepper.

"I suspected as much."

Kagura looked up with surprise. "You did?"

"Yes. Your sister gives me the impression that she has no scruples at all."

"You're right. She doesn't."

Kagome felt her heart go out to Kagura, having to live with a sister like that.

Kagura watched Kagome push the liquefied eggs around in the pan, the viscous mix soon turning more solid, fluffy in texture. They looked like ordinary scrambled eggs, but they had little chunks of mushroom in them.  
Setting a plateful before Kagura, Kagome said, "Eat up."

Poking them, she sniffed them, and found them to smell quite scrumptious. Forking a shovelful into her mouth, she smiled at Kagome.

"These are great!"

Eating from her own massive plate, she smiled and replied, "I know. They were my Mother's recipe."

Kagura continued to shovel her eggs into her mouth, clumsy at first using her left hand, but she soon got the hang of it. Kagome suddenly asked, "Kagura, what was your Mother's sister's name again?"

Kagura stopped eating and swallowed. "Ai. Why do you ask?"

Kagome had a feeling… _there was a connection, there **had** to be!_

"My Mother's name was Ai. Was your Mother's last name Li?"

Kagura smiled, nodding. "Yeah, it was. Li-something. I really don't remember."

"And her name was Kayoko, correct?"

Kagura nodded, her mouth full. "Mm-hm."

Kagome smiled. _She was right_. "Our mothers were sisters."

Kagura swallowed, and smiled. "I had a feeling. Kanna and I are illegitimate, because Mother never married father, which makes me kinda glad, since he was so evil and all. But how did you know about my Mother?"

"The girls told me about your conversation a while ago. Your Mother's last name was Li-Higurashi, because my Father and Mother wanted her to have the family name, even though she was adopted."

Kagura's eyes opened wide. "She was?"

"Yes, Mother told me the whole story once, when I was young, about ten, I think. She felt so bad after her falling out with Aunt Kayoko that she tried for years afterward to contact her, but never found her."

Kagura looked at her lap. "She never found her because Father killed her."

Kagome let half the eggs fall out of her mouth and land back on her plate.

"What?"

She nodded. "I just found out myself after his death. He had our valet kill her three days after she left him, which was not long after my bitch sister was born."

"Oh, Kagura, I'm so sorry," Kagome said, and went around the table to hug Kagura.

Kikyou walked into the kitchen, a towel wrapped around her head, and she saw her sister and best friend hugging. "What's going on?" she asked, filling her plate from the pan on the range.

Kagome and Kagura shared a look, and Kagome winked. "Nothing. How are you feeling?"

Kikyou sat down with a sigh and began to eat. "Rotten."

Kagura watched as both sisters lifted their forks to their mouths at the same time and was struck by how similar they were to each other. "He still hasn't talked to you?"

She shook her head. "Haven't heard a word from him."

Kagura looked at her half-eaten plate of eggs. Every time she tried to fix things, they just ended up even worse than before. She was reluctant to do as her heart wanted, which was to try as hard as she could to put things right.

Making up her mind, she got up from the table and said, "I'll be right back, you guys."

"Where are you going?"

"To take care of some unfinished business."

**S.T.**

Kanna kept her eyes open, but she still hadn't spotted Inuyasha today. She narrowed an eye; he better not try to get out of their date tonight, or he was _finished_.

She took her sandwich and coke outside to a deserted picnic table at lunch, and flipped open a smutty romance novel she'd stolen from some sophomore girl.

A moment later, a dark-haired, pretty girl sat at the table across from her, hiding behind her long hair. Kanna looked up, and made a face.

"What do you want?"

The girl smiled at her, and Kanna's first thought was that it needed some work, but she flipped her hair back over her shoulder and asked, "Are you a freshman?"

Kanna went back to reading her book and crossed her lean legs, propping up her head with her other hand and replying, "Not that it's any of your business, but I'm a senior junior-high student. Who wants to know?"

The girl's face showed surprise, but Kanna continued to look at the book, and not her.

"Wow. You look like a junior. You're so tall."

Kanna snorted. "Tall doesn't get you anywhere."

The girl was silent for a moment, before introducing herself. "I'm Tsubaki. My friends and I wanted to know if you wanted to sit with us."

Kanna flipped the page. _Why were people always trying to attach themselves to her? _

A group of senior boys walked past, and they all smiled at Kanna, but she ignored them, too. Tsubaki watched them, then her, and didn't understand. _This girl obviously had everything going for her, yet she did not take advantage of it. Why?_

When the boys had passed, Kanna looked up. "Oh, you're still here. No thanks."

Tsubaki made a face, and got up to leave, but before she did, she mumbled, "I just wanted to ask you about the Jewel."

Kanna's head whipped up at the word 'jewel'; she liked jewellery, especially if it was expensive, and someone else was doing the buying - for her, that is.

"Tsubaki, wait. What did you say?"

Tsubaki came back and made herself comfortable again. Kanna put her book down but refused to smile. She didn't want to appear as if she liked Tsubaki's company.

"I wanted to ask you about the Sacred Jewel. You know, the one I read about in the paper, the one your Father was pursuing?"

Kanna tried to recall anything she'd heard about this Sacred Jewel, but drew a complete blank. She shook her head in the negative. "Never heard of it."

"Oh. I was just wondering if what I read was true, he being your Father and all."

Kanna supposed the whole student body had heard about her sister's and Father's involvement with Kagome before she'd come home, but no one had told her the details; she'd never cared to know, anyway - until now.

"Tsubaki, tell me… what do you know about this Sacred Jewel?"

**S.T.**

Inuyasha slammed his locker shut, keeping a weather eye out for that bitch, Kanna. He wanted to avoid her at all costs, at least until it was time for him to make her pay for her dirty trick.

Sango passed him in the hall, and he caught her elbow. She tried not to smile upon seeing his worried face, but gave in. "Inuyasha! Where have you been?"

"Is Kikyou here today?" he asked, cutting her off. He was in too big a hurry to exchange pleasantries with Sango first.

"No, she stayed home today. She's really bummed about what you did to her, Inuyasha." There was a hint of reproof in her voice, but there was something else, too - patience. By the expression on her face, she was giving him a chance the explain himself, but he shrugged apologetically.

She frowned, crossing her arms. He sighed.

"Look, you'll find out soon enough. I have to talk to Kikyou first."

She narrowed her eyes, but nodded, and walked to her next class.

Watching her go, he grabbed the bag from his locker. He had better things to do today than go to class.

Running down the hall, he stopped at Miroku's locker and spun the dial on the lock. Tugging it open, he dug around in his brother's jacket pockets for the car keys. He anticipated to be back in time for lunch, but if he took longer… they'd just have to walk home!

**S.T.**

Kagura hurried to school, and just as she was crossing the parking lot, she saw Inuyasha pull out, and come roaring toward her end of the lot.

Flagging him down, he slowed and leaned over the passenger seat, rolling down the window. "Kagura, what are you doing? And what happened to your hand?"

She shook her head impatiently, and waved her good hand. "Nevermind that. Listen, I came here to find you."

He frowned, opening the door for her and motioning for her to get into the front seat. "Me? Why?"

"Because," she huffed as she sat down, out of breath from hurrying, "you need to speak to Kikyou. What happened last night, Inuyasha? She's really upset."

He decided that maybe he should tell Kagura everything first; then, he could get her opinion on his plan.

Turning right instead of left at the street, she asked, "Where are we going? I thought-"

"We're going to the park. I need to get some things off my chest before I see Kikyou, will you listen?"

She glanced at him, her cheeks flushed. _He trusted her enough to tell her what happened? Would he seek her opinion on what to do afterward?_

"Yes, I will."

He stared at the road, leaning forward in nervousness. "Thanks, Kagura."

She looked out the window, so he wouldn't see the tear that gathered in the corner of her eye. _Thank you, Inuyasha, for trusting me_.

**S.T.**

Kikyou sat out in the sun on a lounger beside the Taisho's pool. Kagome lounged next to her, and Amaya came out of the house a moment later, a platter of fresh fruit in her hands. They had been about to sunbathe in their own yard, but Daichi had seen them and invited them over.

Kagome pushed up her shades and said, "Thanks for the fruit, Little Mother."

Kikyou lay still and let the sun warm away her worries as Amaya smiled and retreated into the house to finish her ironing. She closed her eyes under her sunglasses but was forced to open them again when her sister propped herself up on her elbow and asked, "What do you think he did, Kikyou?"

_Good feeling's gone_, she thought, knowing full well it hadn't been there to begin with, not since yesterday anyway…

"I don't know. Worst case scenario, he cheated. Best case… he forgot?"

"Kikki… don't judge him until he explains. I highly doubt he'd cheat on someone he loves as much as you, at least not on purpose."

"What do you mean, 'not on purpose'? How can you cheat, but not on purpose?"

Kagome shut her jaw, struggling for words, flailing her hands until she could blurt, "Maybe some girl tricked him."

"Into thinking she was me?" She had her doubts.

"It sounds far-fetched, I know, but it could have happened. But give him the benefit of the doubt, Kikki; you won't regret it."

Suddenly, as Kagome witnessed her sister's timid smile, her heart pulsed, and the Jewel within vibrated, then stilled.

_What was that?!_

Kikyou saw her sister hesitate, and asked, "Kags, what's wrong?"

Kagome shook her head, and smiled again at her little sister. "Nothing, Kik. Don't worry about it."

Shrugging, Kikyou lay back on her lounge and enjoyed the feel of the sun heating her skin, before remarking, "I'll try, Kags, but I can't guarantee anything."

Kagome grinned. "That's good enough."

**S.T.**

Well, there you have it. The plot thickens, _again_! Oh, my butt hurts. Been sittin' on it too long... soon it'll be flat like middle-aged ladies'. That's unsexy. Anyway, reviews have been so few lately, I'm crying! And bummed. Don't forget bummed. So please, for the love of God, speak to me! I so lonely!


	26. Chapter 26

Hey everybody! So glad to finally get some reviews, woot! This bot truly is slow. I got a review that Rach sent me like, last wednesday, today, so, if I miss you, please forgive me, it was the bot not me, I swear! Oh, and I got another new laptop (The old one was crap) and it works beautifully, so now hopefully I can get more writing done, since I've been neglecting it lately, what with the wireless being a bugger and all, but, anyway, moving on!!

Deds:

**cookiemonsterks** - Did you like that? Hehehe, it's so unsexy to be unsexy, flatass! Lol. MMMMM, pudding... stop. My ass is expanding just thinking about that! Unsexy.

**StercumAccidit** - Yer new. And you like it. I like that! (You'll find I like everybody, heehee. How can I not??) You like my oddball characters, which act so much like I? Sigh, aren't they funny? And evil, cackle cackle!

**anime-lover-forever2007** - Well, as nice as that would be... running her over isn't quite what I had in mind, but you never know. Stranger things have happened!

**Mystical Hanyou** - I loved Nemo! I cried at the beginning, so sad! Yeah, I liked that line, so, hehe, there it is. I'm guilty, but lawyers can do nothing, cuz I'm _still _poor!!! Ahhh, lookout, Kanna's wise to the game now, she's getting the bigger picture, looks like trouble for the whole gang, yet again! Why does that make me think of Scooby Doo? You know, the old ones that were cool, not the preppy, whacked-out new ones? I miss that show, it was so awesome! Shaggy was my fav, he was such an asswipe, haha! Wow, yer right; this bot is really whacked! I got yer latest review before the one you sent before that one... confusing. What a bitch!!!

**Kitsune's Lover** - Holy monkey, I almost missed you! Yer so right, this bot is cheating us all! I don't get all my reviews anymore, it didn't send yours! I'll probably get it next week or something, jesus! Hahaha, I should let you loose on her, she'd look like a moldy pancake, ha! You like it soo much?? Awww, I wuv you! I was getting worried there, too, not hearing from you. Fuck this bot!!!! Anyway, without further ado...

**Sweet Temptation**

Kagura sat back in the passenger seat of the black Hatchback, stunned. Inuyasha sat back too, feeling a million pounds lighter now that he'd finally told someone. He only hoped now that she would help him, and not turn on him for the horrible thing he'd done.

Kagura began to see red. _What Kanna had confessed to her was true._ Her sister was spiteful, vindictive, and even more manipulative than she'd ever realised._ That little bitch had gone too far with this scheme of hers_.

Breaking her hand was one thing, but trifling with her friends - that's where Kagura drew the line.

_Heaven help us if Kanna ever gets wind of the existence of the Sacred Jewel_, she thought, turning to face Inuyasha. She took his hand in hers.

"Listen to me, Inuyasha. What you did was in no way your fault."

He looked at her with shock. _Was she crazy?_ He felt flattered that she'd tried to comfort him by saying that, but knew he had to set her straight.

"Are you off your rocker? Did you hear a word I said? I _cheated_, Kagura! I'm scum!!"

She shook her head, and winced as her bad hand bumped the dash.  
"No, she just wants you to think you are. I had no idea she was so evil… Inuyasha, I'm willing to bet you my last yen that what she did was a ploy to break you and Kikyou apart. You said she was holding this over your head, so you would take her to the dance?"

He nodded, not following her yet.

"And you plan to confess to Kikyou before then, and hope she can forgive you?"

He nodded again.

She smiled. "I think your plan is sound. In fact, I'll come with you. We may just be able to straighten this whole mess out, and in time to show Kanna up at the dance, too."

His eyes widened, and his smile came back. "Really? You think she'll forgive me?"

Kagura grinned, happy in the knowledge that she was finally getting something right. "Believe me, Inuyasha, with me helping you, you will clear your name and get her back in no time!"

**S.T.**

Sango sat in her English Lit class and propped her head up with her left hand, writing lazily with the other. The look on Inuyasha's face this morning haunted her; he'd looked genuinely miserable, and her heart had gone out to him. Miroku could offer no insight to his brother's melancholy; he refused to tell him what was wrong. She hoped he and Kikyou could figure this mess out soon. Her sister never had been good with rejection, being so sensitive about her appearance. Sango thought about how angry Kikyou had been when all the guys had been flocking to Kagome, and how depressed she'd been when she compared herself their sister and found herself lacking.

Suddenly the bell rang for lunch, jarring Sango from her thoughts. Picking up her books, she smiled as Miroku came up next to her after class, and walked with her to her locker.

"Have you decided what you want for lunch?" he asked, leaning against the wall as she stashed her books on the top shelf and took out her purse before slamming her locker shut again.

"How about Gino's? You in the mood for pizza?"

He smiled. "I'm always in the mood for pizza. And for you." Leaning in, she let him steal a quick kiss before she grabbed his collar and led him to his locker, gritting, "Don't get too cozy, boy, or I'll have to take you out back!"

He got excited hearing that. "Will you spank me?"

She released him and smiled, evilly. "Oh yes, very hard. You'll be black and blue for months."

He made a face as she motioned for him to get his things. Opening his locker, he threw on his jacket and felt in his pocket for his wallet and the keys to the car, but they were gone. He turned around to inspect the bottom of his locker, and muttered, "Huh."

Sango tapped her foot impatiently. She was _soo_ hungry!

"What?"

"The keys are gone."

"What? Where would they go?"

He shook his head, and told her, "Only Inuyasha knows my combination; maybe he took them."

"Damn it." Now they'd have to settle for cafeteria food! Yuck!

A few minutes later both stood in line, making faces at the menu board. Pea soup, chicken salad sandwiches, and macaroni salad. Sango almost gagged.

Taking Miroku's hand, she turned him around and marched him toward the doors leading outside. "That's it, I'm not eating that crap. We're going for pizza even if we have to crawl there to get it."

He said over his shoulder, "What if we're late getting back?"

She shrugged. "You're always late. Since when does that bug you?"

He was quiet then and she could no longer push him, for he'd stopped and was watching the scene before him, his mouth agape.

Sango peered around him and narrowed her eyes; Kanna was sitting at one of the picnic tables, surrounded by a group of senior girls, Tsubaki Chihiro among them. She frowned in disbelief.

"Looks like she's made a few friends," Miroku noted, counting twelve girls. Sango snorted. _Friends my ass_, she thought, straining to hear what they were talking about. Grabbing his other hand, she yanked him forward and said, "I need to get closer. Act normal."

He let her lead him as they slowly strolled past the group of girls, who fell silent as soon as Kanna spotted Sango. Smiling, Sango cheerfully waved, but Kanna only glared. When the pair had passed, Kanna continued to speak, this time in whispers, to the older girls around her.

Sango's face was grim. Miroku had heard it too, and all thoughts of pizza were abandoned in favour of finding Kagome.

Kanna had been discussing the Sacred Jewel with Tsubaki and her friends. Both knew the implications to this news, and they had no time to lose.

Anxious, they hastily made their way home.

**S.T.**

Kouga and Shippo sat in the cafeteria, Ayame and Rin across from them. Kouga leaned toward Ayame and said above the din, "I saw Inuyasha leave with the car keys this morning. Wonder where he went?"

Rin looked around, and commented, "Do you think Kagura will come to school today?"

Ayame shook her head. "After last night? I doubt it."

Shippo looked up from his half-eaten danish and gurgled, "What happened to Kagura?"

Rin looked at him. She'd forgotten that he and his brothers hadn't been there… it was so common for the two families to be together, now. Having Sesshoumaru living with them was so misleading to her memory sometimes.

"Didn't I tell you? Kagura broke her hand."

"She did?" Kouga asked, raising a brow. "What'd she do that for?"

"She didn't do it on purpose, butthead," Ayame said, laughing. "She said she slammed it in a car door, but I think that's shit. I bet-"

"-Kanna did it," Rin finished, looking at the older girl out the window as she sat, surrounded on all sides, lapping up the attention the older girls were lavishing on her.

"Kanna?" Shippo turned to look at what the girls were seeing. She gave him a bad feeling. He sensed something sinister about her, even when she was being nice, that he just couldn't trust.

Rin watched Shippo's reaction closely as he looked at Kanna through the window. When he furrowed his brow in disgust, she breathed easier.

Reaching out for his hand, and feeling him squeeze hers reassuringly in return, she relaxed.

Then, Sango and Miroku walked past Kanna, and Ayame said, "Hey, there's goes Sango and Miroku."

They all watched Sango wave, and Kanna's reaction, and then the pair's hasty retreat.

Ayame looked at Rin, getting up. Kouga looked back at them and asked, "What?"

"Something's wrong," Rin said, and Ayame nodded, her fists clenched.

Shippo grabbed Kouga's collar and hauled him up, following the girls as they made their way out of the crowded cafeteria.

"Where are we going?"

Ayame pulled her phone out of her purse and dialled her sister. "We're following them."

**S.T.**

Sesshoumaru sat at his desk, and stared at the wall. He'd gotten to work this morning to find a note on his desk; his boss had found him a new secretary.

Pushing the intercom button on his phone, he said into the speaker, "Miss Sakamoto, will you come in here please?"

"Yes, sir." Came the pert response.

His office door opened, and Yura Sakamoto walked in, her tailored suit jacket open and her blue silk shirt showing from underneath. Sesshoumaru glanced at her, donning his own suit jacket.

"I'm leaving early today, Miss Sakamoto. Can you have those TPS reports done by four-thirty?"

She smiled brightly, and laughed; it sounded like bells. "Yes sir. Anything else?"

He shook his head. "That will be all."

Bowing, she closed the door behind her. Picking up his briefcase, he shut off his laptop and dug the keys to the Mustang from his pocket. His early arrival home would surprise Kagome… maybe they would go out for lunch together.

Leaving his office, he smiled at Yura as she waved goodbye, then followed the winding path through the cubicles to the exit at the front of the building.

Yura watched until he was gone, and, stripping off her jacket, turned on her little radio and exited from the TPS window on her computer and sat back, pulling up Solitaire on the Start Menu. _The frigging TPS reports could wait_.

She enjoyed her lunch and ten games of Solitaire, plus a short smoke break and a Messenger conversation with the hottie over in the Consumer Complaints Department, before she finally got back to work.

**S.T.**

Kanna cut off her conversation soon after seeing Sango and her geek boyfriend, Miroku. _Had they heard what she was saying?  
_

No matter. She was confident in her abilities, though even now she sensed that Inuyasha had managed to get out from under her thumb. _Was he confessing his guilty conscience to Kikyou right now?  
_

She narrowed her eyes as she slammed her locker door shut. That didn't matter anymore. She was sick of using petty manipulation to get what she wanted; now, she had bigger fish to fry. This Sacred Jewel sounded interesting, and she wanted it, was even dreaming about it and what its powers could do for her. She disregarded the fact that in his lust for the Jewel, it had been a factor in her own Father's demise, but she had resolved to be smarter than him. She would not let her greed blind her.

Stalking down the hall, she took the rest of the day off, and walked home to an empty house.

Perfect. No interference meant more plotting time.

**S.T.**

Sango felt her hip begin to vibrate. Stopping, she dug around in her purse and pulled out her cell phone, flipped it open and yelled, "For the love of God, what??"

Ayame yelled back through the receiver, "It's me, you ditz! Wait for us!"

Sango smiled at Miroku. "Where are you?"

"Right behind you. Over here."

Turning, Miroku spotted the four of them on the hill behind them. "There they are."

"Hurry up," Sango snarled into the phone before flipping it shut. Her patience was running out. They had to do something, and fast.

She tapped her foot impatiently as they waited for the others to catch up.

**S.T.**

Inuyasha pulled into Kikyou's driveway and, looking to Kagura, heaved a huge breath. _God, he was nervous!  
_

"It's okay, you'll do fine," she said, rubbing his back.

He nodded, then got out, and rang the doorbell. When no one answered, he turned to look back at her.

Getting out awkwardly, she almost fell but managed to stay upright, and called, "They were here when I left, and the car's still here."

"Maybe they went for a walk?" he suggested.

She shook her head, sitting on the hood of the car, hot under her backside.

"No, I think-"

"Wha?t"

Kagura held up her bad hand for silence. He frowned.

"Do you hear that?"

Inuyasha turned his head into the wind. Sure enough, a grunting sound could be heard from his backyard. Curious, he pushed open the gate, Kagura peering around him to see what was going on.

Dachi stood over the pool filter, vainly trying to remove it from it's hole in the side of the pool. Straining, he let out a massive, "Arrrrrggggg!" before it finally popped out, a horrendous wookie lodged in the fine mesh.

"That's sick," Inuyasha shook his head. Kagura covered her mouth.

Kikyou looked up from her lounge and whispered, "Inuyasha… Kagura?"

Inuyasha came straight to her side and knelt there as she pulled up her legs to cross them, and he flung his arms around her waist, burying his face in her gut.

She smiled at him, feeling tears prick her eyes, before her smile faded. _What had he done that he was so obviously remorseful for?_ She feared the worst.

Kagome flung her shades away and walked around them so she could see what was happening, picking a piece of fruit off the tray as she passed and swallowing it whole.

"Kagura… did you go to get him?"

She nodded, but was too involved in the scene before her to tear her eyes away.

"Kikyou, I'm so, _so _sorry I left you there last night… I feel so horrible."

She stroked his silver head and asked in a voice that was way too calm, "What happened, Inuyasha."

Looking up at her, he couldn't miss the defeated look in her eyes. He suddenly felt like his bones had turned to lead.

"It wasn't his fault!"

Kikyou shaded her eyes to look up at Kagura. "What wasn't? Will someone spit out what happened, already?!"

Inuyasha hugged her tighter, fearing his next words would burn her so bad that she'd never even look at him again after he said them. He plunged in anyway, knowing that he couldn't rest easy until he'd confessed.

"I had sex with Kanna."

Kikyou snapped her jaw shut with a click. _Her worst fear, come to fruition_… she viciously pinched herself, but did not wake up. _So it wasn't a dream_. She was very disappointed.

Breathing deeply to calm her anger, which swiftly rose to the surface, staining her face red, she gritted, "What?"

"I didn't mean to! She tricked me, Kikyou, I honestly thought she was you, I swear to God!"

Kikyou could take no more of his lies and she exploded, "Tricked you!? Tricked you!? How could you possibly mistake her for me? I'm thirty pounds heavier, for Christ's sake!"

Kagura winced at the tone of her voice. She'd never heard Kikyou so angry before. She crossed her fingers behind her back. _Come on, Inuyasha, fight back! Make her see you aren't at fault!  
_

Inuyasha let go of her when she stood, trying to run, but he latched onto her ankle, and refused to let go.

"It was a dirty scheme, Kikyou, meant to split us apart. It was dark, and I wanted it to be you so badly…" here he faltered, and released her, though she did not run again.

Kikyou thought it over. He really did seem sorry, but her heart was bruised. She could not find it in her heart to trust his words.

"You're not going to let this little misunderstanding ruin a perfectly good relationship, are you, Kikki? Kanna wins if you do, but… she did deal a hard blow. What do you think, Kagura?"

Kagura looked at Kagome, and saw her wink. _What was she trying to accomplish?_ Suddenly everything fell into place.

"I think I agree with you, Kagome. Kanna loses if you two stay together, if you persevere… if you forgive. Look at him, Kik. He's miserable without you."

Kikyou felt hot tears stream down her cheeks to drip off her chin. Her brain was screaming for her to run, to turn him away, to severe her ties with him. _Once a cheater, always a cheater_. She looked at his moist eyes and her heart burst.

Kneeling before him, she wrapped her arms around him and cried, "I'm so sorry, Inuyasha!"

He held her face between his hands and murmured, "No, babe, I'm the one who's sorry. You have done nothing wrong, it's me who's damned to make the mistakes. I wish this had never happened. Two fights in two days… something's gotta be done about that girl."

Kikyou sniffed and wiped her eyes. She smiled at him, happy to have him hold her close once again. The past twenty-four hours without him had been hell.

Kagome smiled at Kagura. Kagura sighed. Things had finally gone right, for once. She picked up a piece of fruit when Sesshoumaru came out of his parents' house, his suit jacket gone and his shirt unbuttoned.

Kagome grinned, and ran to meet him, and he kissed her passionately.

Daichi looked up from his task and shouted, "Hey Sesshoumaru, come here for a minute, will ya?"

Kagome pulled his face back to hers and giggled, "Don't do it!"

Daichi held up the giant wookie and waved it at them, smiling like a kid in a candy store.

"Jesus, that is _so_ wrong," Sesshoumaru murmured, and led Kagome back into the house, shaking his head in disgust.

Kagura, realising that her job here was done, said to Kikyou, "I'm gonna go home and get ready. You two keep making up."

Kikyou smiled, then asked, "Get ready for what?"

Inuyasha laughed, and said, "The dance, babe. Remember? It's tonight?"

Kikyou grinned. "Oh yeah! Okay, see you later Kagura! Thanks."

Kagura smiled and turned to leave, but she came back to watch them when they thought she'd gone. Kikyou had taken him by the hand and was leading Inuyasha to her empty house.

Kagura grinned. _You go, Kik_, she thought, crossing her fingers again, _you show him how Higurashi girls get down! Put Kanna to shame!  
_

Whistling, Kagura walked home, content, for the first time in a long while.

**S.T.**

Ahhh! TPS Reports! Office Space! Milton!! "Can I have my stapler?" lol, I'm so tired, I'm rambling! Hope you guys liked my office humour there, heehee! That movie was _soo _funny! "She had sex with Lumbergh?? Sick!" Review me, and hopefully they'll show up within a reasonable time period. I'm gonna choke the bot, I swear I will... "Oh, and I'm gonna need you to come in on Saturday, Okaaayyy? Yeaaahhhh."


	27. Chapter 27

Hey dudes, sorry for the wait, and such a short chapter, but I have been neglecting my writing terribly because of work and blah blah blah (I hate my job, did I ever mention that?), and I promised firevixen73 that I'd do some artwork for her, so...yeah! Life's so busy, but Yay! My birthday's this Sunday! Woot, 21! Oh yeah! Except that I'm no longer covered by my dad's healthplan, those assholes! This is Canada! Why are you snatching my plan away! ARGGG!!! And getting new scanner, plus new tattoos... sometime... soon I hope, lol!

Deds:

**Kitsune's Lover** - Thanks to the goddamn bot, long time no hear!! I loved Office Space, wasn't that funny?!?!? Lumbergh grossed me out tho, and that guy that got off on the breast exams on tv, he needed a new hobby, lol. Tell you what: you get the razor, and I'll hold her down, savvy? Awesome, it's a plan!! Now gimme some cake!

**cookiemonsterks** - Do you know something I don't?!?! Who told!!!! I'm sure there are a lot of ppl out there who have many deliciously disgusting ways to get rid of Kanna, but I haven't yet decided, since I'm not even that far yet (get yer ass in gear, Shannon, jeez) but I'd love to hear any ideas you might have!

**Mystical Hanyou** - The wookie was a good idea, wasn't it? I'd like to know where those come from, not many ppl have been swimming in this entire story... maybe the animals party at night when they're asleep... that would explain all the hair, anyway. Yes, they are about to devise a plan, but luckily, Kanna doesn't know that Kagome has the Jewel inside her, so, we'll see what she'll do, and the dance is just hours away! Yay! I have no idea what to write!! Gah!

**Stercum Accidit** - Not at all! We love blood here! Look at everyone else, they're crying for it! All I have to do know is think up a good way to off her, when the time comes, of course. I'd say it's unanimous. **KANNA IS LOVED BY NO ONE**. Heehee! I hope no one sues me for defaming her this badly. Oh well.

**Sweet Temptation**

Juuromaru pulled up in front of the big white house again, his Maserati idling loudly in the street. Inuyasha hadn't gotten back to him about his request earlier. He wondered what had been going on with him; he'd been all weird today, when he'd seen him at all. He put that thought aside for now, though.

_What if she wasn't there again?_ He really didn't want to talk to that white-haired girl again. She was a skank.

He'd just shut off the engine when an upstairs window opened and steam came billowing out; someone was in the shower.

Working up his nerve, he walked up the lawn and rang the bell.

**S.T.**

Sango opened the front door, five people piling in behind her and forcing her to let go of the knob. Flinging off their shoes, they ran into the house, Sango shouting, "Kags! Kikki! You guys still here?"

There was thump, then silence again.

"Wait here, you guys."

Sango went down the hall and stopped at her sister's door, inching it open.

A large moving lump was under the sheets and she could hear one of them hushing the other and giggling. She smiled.

Returning to the living room, Miroku asked, "Find anything?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Then let's go to our place. We'll see if Mom and Dad can help us figure out what to do."

Picking up their shoes, they ran next door.

**S.T.**

Kanna sat at her vanity and contemplated her face. Her skin, pale, was smooth and unblemished; her eyes, dark but wide, contrasted with her fair skin. Her hair, also white, fell in silky waves around her face. Staring critically at her reflection, she picked up the phone after two rings.

"Yeah."

"Kanna, dear, why are you home?" Kaede was on the other end. "You weren't answering your cell phone."

Kanna raised a brow. _Some things were so tediously petty_…

"I think my service is still screwed up Kaede. I'm home because I don't feel well."

"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetheart. You get right into bed and feel better. I just called to say that I would be staying at Mao's tonight. She's a little under the weather herself. I hope it's nothing contagious. Tell your sister that she is in charge and that there is macaroni in the freezer." Kanna wanted to die of boredom. _Yak, yak, yak_…

"I will." _Not_.

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye."

Kanna hung up without waiting for the older woman to bid her farewell, and looked at her cell. Two missed calls.

_Oh well_, she thought, looking out her window. _At least it didn't rain like I thought it would_.

She opened her bedroom window and turned her music up loud, and all the neighbourhood dogs began to bark.

**S.T.**

When Kagura turned the corner to her block, she could hear music. Frowning, she realised with embarrassment that it was coming from her house. Shaking her head, she opened the door and looked up to see her sister's bedroom door standing open a few inches.

Kanna was in the bathroom, but no water was running yet. _Probably admiring yourself in the mirror, aren't you, sister dearest?_ She thought contemptuously.

She smiled to herself in satisfaction, realising that she and Kanna weren't so different after all. Kanna liked to hurt and manipulate others, whereas Kagura just liked to hurt Kanna, for she so sorely deserved everything that she got for her malevolent actions.

_At least I have good news_, Kagura thought, her smile widening. _How pleased you will be when I tell you that all your scheming was for naught!  
_

Kagura revelled in the thought of her sister's angry reaction, and, closing her own door - noting the blood had been wiped from Kanna's door as she passed it - she began to rummage through her closet. Looking for something to wear to the dance that night made her think of Juuromaru, and her heart sank. She had not seen him since yesterday morning, but it seemed like a lifetime to her. She wondered if he would show up at the dance.

Browsing through her shoes, she noticed several pairs were missing.

_Kanna, you little fucker!_ She fumed as she opened her sister's bedroom door.

Kanna's room was a testament to her inner evil; it's walls were coated with a thick layer of velvet black paint, and even her carpet was dark, crimson in colour. The silver mirror reflected her silhouette as she opened the door wider.

She hated this room. It was a mess, but the way Kanna dressed and looked you'd never guess it. It was musky from smoke, since Kanna had candles everywhere, and soot blackened the already dark ceiling.

Flicking on the light, she was about to search this pigsty for her shoes when she saw Kanna's outfit for that night laid out on her unmade bed, sparkling in the light from the lamps. She fingered the diamond-studded fabric, and wondered where Kanna had gotten such a beautiful dress. It was red, and the bodice twinkled as the facets of the diamonds hit the light.

She shook her head in poorly disguised jealousy as she found her blue high-tops, her red sandals, and a pair of brand-new white sandals.

Taking her shoes back to her room, she locked her door behind her.

Digging around in her desk, she found an old combination lock and fastened it to her closet doors.

_There, you just try to steal my shoes now, bitch!  
_

Kagura's stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten since this morning. She glanced at the marble clock on her nightstand; it read one-thirty.

Opening her door and going downstairs, walking through the steamy mist coming from under the bathroom door, Kagura went to the kitchen and looked around in the fridge for something to eat.

Finding little, she opened the freezer and found a box of popsickles.

Taking one out, she stopped half-way up the stairs when the doorbell rang.

Running to get it before Kanna could come out of the bathroom, Kagura flung open the door to face Juuromaru, a smile of relief on his handsome face.

Kagura smiled and felt a happiness arise from within her that she couldn't contain.

"Juuromaru! What are you doing here?"

He grinned, and replied, "I came to see you. How have - what happened to your hand!?"

She'd forgotten about her hand. Holding it up, she brushed it off and said, "I broke it, but it'll be fine. How have _you_ been?"

Kagura stepped onto the porch and closed the door behind her, throwing her half-eaten posickle in the bushes. She knew it was rude not to invite him in, but she wanted to keep him out of Kanna's sight for as long as possible. _If Kanna even had the slightest inkling of how much she liked him_… she would ruin Kagura's chances with him, in a heartbeat.

Juuromaru pulled a hand through his long hair and then shifted his weight on his feet, watching her dispose of her half-eaten treat with a smile.

"Alright. I came here to ask you to the dance, actually. I came last night too, but you weren't here."

Kagura's eyes widened. "You did?"

"Yeah. Is that girl your sister?"

Kagura swallowed. _Shit_. _So they did meet, and she knows_.

"Kanna? White hair?"

"Yeah, that's her."

"Yes, she is, unfortunately."

He saw the black look on her face and laughed outright. She began to smile then, and asked, "What's so funny?"

"You don't like her either, eh?"

The black look returned. "I hate her. What did she say to you?"

He shrugged. "Not much. But when she started to come on to me, that's when I hit the road. Though I'm glad I could catch you today."

She saw red until he said that. "You are?"

"Yeah. So, how about it? Wanna be my date tonight?"

Kagura grinned, blushing. "You bet."

"Great. Pick you up at seven?"

"I'll be ready."

"Awesome." He leaned toward her and kissed her cheek, then ran back to his Maserati and waved to her as he sped away.

Kagura closed the door behind her and the smile slid off her face. Kanna stood on the stairs, a towel around her chest and one on her head. "Who was that?"

Kagura swallowed, but pushed herself off the door and walked calmly into the living room, Kanna on her heels.

"It was the Fashion Police. They wanted to cite you for wearing that disgusting towel, but I talked them into letting me punish you instead."

"Ha ha, very funny, Kagura. You're a real comedian. In fact, you're so funny, I might kill with laughter. How's your hand, by the way?"

"It's die, dumbass. It was nobody, alright? Drop it."

Kanna crossed her arms, hiking up her faded and thread-bare black and red towel, but said nothing further. Kagura was evading her, ignoring her remark about her hand, but she didn't care enough to pester her about it. She knew who it had been, from the stupid smile still on her sister's stupid face.

"Oh. Well, if you see Inuyasha, do let me know." She turned to go back upstairs, but stopped at her sister's happy voice.

"He won't be here anytime soon. I believe he's too busy having make-up sex with Kikyou to give _you _the time of day."

Kanna spun around, her eyes ablaze. "What?!"

_He'd done it! That bastard, had actually had the balls to confess! The nerve of him, ruining her plans like that! She had intended to hold that over him as leverage for a long while, but now her plans were shot to hell!  
_

Coming back to jab her sister in the chest, she said stubbornly, "And why should I believe _you_?"

Kagura laughed. "Because I was there when he told her; in fact, I convinced him he was of sound mind to do so. He asked _me_ what he should do before he told anyone else."

Kanna was incensed. Turning on her heel, she gritted, "He'll pay. " Quieter, she hissed, "_And so will you, sister_."

Kagura shook her head, pulling out and flicking open her cell phone. Kanna stomped up the stairs muttering bloody murder as she read a text message from Sango: **_Come over to Sess's. NOW. Kanna knows about the Jewel!!_**

**S.T.**

Whoooaaaa! So that's how the wind blows, is it?? Kanna's mad, you guys, really mad. What's she gonna do? Her plans have been ruined, and all she knows about the Jewel is that it's in Kagome's possession. Sounds like the gang's in for some surprises tonight at the dance, or will Kanna bide her time and plan something really awful? You'll find out, whenever I get typing, damn it! Of course, reviews make me type faster... heehee! Sorry for the shortness here people, but this was all that was left. I know, get to work, slave! The good readers are waitin'! (I can hear the crack of the whip now - Ouch! I can feel it, too! Yow, that smarts!!)


	28. Chapter 28

Oh...My...God! One hundred reviews! I can't believe it! (I also can't believe how long this story is, like, shit!) This is so exciting! Now, because I've reached a new record with Sweet Temptation reviews, and because tomorrow is my birthday (woot! 21 on the 21st! woot!), I have been nice and made this chapter extra long, in fact, all that writing I said I was gonna do last chapter - well, it's all in here. Yay! Aren't you guys excited?!?! Dance with me, my beloved chalamalas!! I'm also happy because I did some pretty awesome drawings for a story by firevixen73 called _The Black Widows_, and I'm getting money for my b-day, and I made a great cake... Life's good, ain't it? Besides work and broken hearts and friends who are too tired to do dick with ya, I mean. Listen to me, droning on! On with the chapter!!

Deds:

**cookiemonsterks** - I thought about you're idea, and I thought it was great, but guess what I did? I fucking forgot to write it in!! Arg! (Slaps forehead) Sorry about that! Your idea was awesome, she totally deserved to be on her rag, too, but... oh well. It was still a good idea! I been to Niagara once, a long time ago... yer not missin' much, really. I do like that barge, tho, so mysterious... but that sucks that you have to pay. I agree: the goverment sucks ass!

**Du Weldervarden Farcai** - Do you? With full-blown passion? Awww, yer sweet! Thanks!!!

**Mystical Hanyou** - You know, even I didn't know what would happen at the dance, but guess what? It's all here, so you'll find out what popped outta me! I love writing; it's nice to fly by the seat of your pants. I like to have one idea to elaborate on, but somehow, too many pop up and before I know it I can't keep track of them all! Yikes! I have a fear that I'll forget to re-mention something major in this story, but hopefully I'm not that negligent and things go well! She's pissed all right, how will she take her revenge?? You'd better get readin' and see, Mysti!!

Without further yakking and blah blah blah, I give you the awesome, extended, b-day edition of:

**Sweet Temptation**

Sango paced the room, waiting for Kagura to show up. Fifteen minutes had passed; even Kikyou and Inuyasha had joined them, even though their faces flamed whenever they looked at each other.

Kagome sat next to Sesshoumaru, her gut full of anxiety. She'd hoped so hard that her premonition was false, but no, Kanna knew, and that had been why she'd been so out of sorts lately.

Sesshoumaru sat next to her on the couch, stuffing his sandwich in his face. A cascade of crumbs fell onto the carpet as he got up to wash down the last bite, and Amaya frowned at him, but he saw nothing as his back was to her, but Kagome smiled back at the older woman, and Amaya shook her head, unable to stop a grin from quirking up her lips.

Finally, the doorbell rang, making everyone jump out of their skin. Daichi grinned and got up, shouting, "I'll get it!" only to be bodily shoved into a wall by Inuyasha, who chuckled and said, "No, _I'll_ be getting it!"

"Fine, then get it!"

"I will!"

Daichi smiled and pushed him into the door, rubbing the back of his own head where it had made contact with the wall, which was now dented.

Sesshoumaru came back and rolled his eyes, throwing back a glass of water, as Amaya tried to ignore the scene before her and Kikyou covered her eyes with a hand and shook her head.

Kagura heard a series of thumps from inside and raised a brow. _What the hell was going on in there?  
_

Finally Inuyasha flung open the door. "Get in here, you!" and, grabbing her good hand, yanked her inside and slammed the door behind her.

"Hello, how are you, I'm fine, thanks," she mumbled to herself and Inuyasha asked, "What?"

"Nothing."

Leading her into the living room, Kagura kicked off her sandals and said, "Alright, what do you mean, she knows? _How_ can she know if we didn't tell her?"

Miroku, leaning on the back of an armchair, holding Sango down in its cushy seat, replied, "We saw her talking to Tsubaki Chihiro and a bunch of senior girls today at lunch. They were telling her about the Jewel. Apparently our story got more publicity than we bargained for."

Kagome turned wide eyes to him, her hands clasped tightly together, while Kagura blanched and brought a thoughtful hand to her chin.

"I was just talking to her, and she never gave any indication to me… but I told her that you two had made up," she gestured to Inuyasha and Kikyou, "and she was _pissed off_, you guys."

Kikyou clutched Inuyasha tighter to her, and he rested his chin atop her black hair.

"What do you think she's going to do?"

Kagura frowned. Looking up at the wall, she sought out a clock, and when she found one, a tall, dark Grandfather clock, ticking away in a far corner, it read two o'clock.

"Listen you guys, I don't know what she's going to do, and we won't find out standing around here speculating. I'll go home and keep an eye on her, alright? If anything changes, I'll text one of you."

They nodded in agreement, and Kagura hurried to put her sandals back on. As the two families gathered closer together in the living room to talk, Kikyou followed Kagura to the door. "Kagura, are you sure you can do this? What if she tries to hurt you again?"

Kagura smiled. "Don't worry, Kik. She caught me off guard last time, but if she tries anything today, I'll be ready. Wish me luck?"

Impulsively, Kikyou hugged Kagura, and Kagura hugged her back, the others looking on fondly at the two friends.

"Please be careful."

Kagura chuckled, and peered around the corner so everyone could see her. "I will. See you guys tonight, if not sooner."

They all waved, and Kikyou followed her onto the porch, closing the door behind her.

"You going with anyone tonight?"

Kagura turned a deep shade of red and Kikyou giggled. "Who?"

"Juuromaru."

"The new senior? Ooh, Kagura, he's cute!"

"I know, and he came over just a while ago to ask me to the dance - personally. He has a Maserati, Kikki! And it's _black!_"

Kikyou laughed, "Nice. Thanks again, Kagura. For everything."

Kagura felt her heart swell with pride. Finally, she was part of a group; finally, she belonged.

"You're welcome. I gotta go."

"See you." Kikyou waved, and watched until Kagura's back disappeared from sight.

**S.T.**

Kanna had watched Kagura run out the door from between the spindles in the railing on the second floor, the carpet soaking up the water that dripped down her smooth legs. _Where was she off to now?  
_

Standing, Kanna walked to her room, picked the tracking device of her Father's out of her underwear drawer, and flicked it on. It indicated that Kagura was at Kikyou's, but she'd just left; she couldn't be there yet.

_Fuck. Apparently it was broken, or Kagura had somehow managed to lose the bug.  
_

Trudging back to the bathroom, she peeled off both of her towels at stared at herself in the mirror for a long time. One could practically see the gears turning in her mind had anyone been there to look. Picking up the brush and blow dryer, she set to work. Tonight, she would be beautiful. Tonight, she would dazzle the entire male population at that two-bit high school, but she would not make a scene. No, she had other plans. Best to keep a low profile, for now.

_You may have won the battle, my **friends**_ she thought, smiling devilishly at her reflection, _but you most certainly have not won the war. And this **is **war.  
_

_And Kagura, **your **man will be my first reward_.

She recalled how panicked Juuromaru had been the other night, and how quickly she'd managed to scare him. She resolved that tonight, he'd be leaving this house with her, not her sister.

All she had to do was play her cards right. She continued to dry her hair, waiting for Kagura to come back.

**S.T.**

Kikyou text messaged Kagura half-way home, and Kagura smiled, telling her best friend how excited she was to be going to the dance with the hot new senior, and Kikyou once again warned her to be careful around her sister. She opened the front door, closing it quietly and slipping off her shoes in silence. The bathroom door upstairs was open, and she could hear the exhaust fan running.

Putting on an innocent face, Kagura ran excuse after excuse through her head, should Kanna ask the reason for her absence. _Then again_, she thought, _maybe she doesn't even know I left_.

Flipping her phone shut, she went to her room to dig through her laundry. What did she have that was clean to wear tonight?

She heard a thump, and turned around. Kanna stood behind her, her face a mask, as blank as a sheet of paper. Kagura frowned. "What do _you _want? I'm busy."

Turning back to the task at hand, she paused as her sister breathed, "I want retribution. _Don't move_."

Swinging around, Kagura tried to push Kanna away before the hair dryer in her hand could connect with her head, but she was a fraction of a second too late, and the appliance swung toward her by its cord, Kanna's face showing lips pulled back and teeth bared as she swung it viciously toward Kagura's head.

Kagura felt tremendous pain as the dryer hit its mark, side-swiping her temple and cracking her skull against the dresser behind her.

Kanna caught the dryer in her empty hand as it swung back to her, ready to beat her sister with it again, but Kagura lay motionless on the floor, a small smattering of blood from her split temple the only evidence of her crime.  
Toeing her sister in the face, a place sure to wake her, Kanna was rewarded when her sister failed to respond.

"Was that so difficult?" she asked Kagura's unconscious face, lifting her with great effort onto her bed, face-down. "I _did_ tell you to hold still."

Wiping her forehead, she went down to the basement and rummaged around, finally locating some nylon rope, and ran back upstairs, finding Kagura exactly as she had left her.

Noticing that Kagura's face was still buried in her duvet, Kanna checked her pulse, almost disappointed that it was still there. "Well," she muttered, tying off her sister's limbs tightly and pushing her inert body back onto the floor, "I hadn't planned to kill you anyway… that would be messy."

Realising too late that she should have left Kagura on the bed, making it easier to pick her up, Kanna was forced to drag her sister to her darkened room, where she placed her in the closet and closed it, using her metal bong to hold the doors firmly shut, should Kagura come to, too soon.

She stared fondly at that bong, remembering some good times from her old school, but didn't dwell on them long.

Walking out into the hallway, intending to finish her hair and makeup in the bathroom, she spotted something on the carpet. Kagura's cell phone.

Picking it up, she flipped it open. Scrolling through her _Sent Messages_, she smiled. So her assumptionss were correct: _Juuromaru **was** coming to get her tonight.  
_

"Kagura, Kagura," she sighed, flipping the phone shut and tossing it over the railing, listening as it made contact with the marble floor below, shattering into tiny pieces, "you won't be needing this anymore. Thanks for the info, _sister dearest_. I _told_ you, you would pay."

Laughing, she returned to the bathroom and finished, her dress the only thing left for her to don.

**S.T.**

Six o'clock rolled around, and the Higurashi household was in chaos.

There was pushing, jostling, shouting, crying, and screaming, among other things, berating poor Kagome's ears. Sesshoumaru had stayed at home to help his brothers dress, at the request of his Father, Daichi having a pool to clean and all. Sesshoumaru had told him he was full of shit, but laughed and agreed to stay and help. That wookie had to be disposed of, and quick!

Kagome made the rounds from room to room, checking the progress. Kikyou had her makeup on, but was digging frantically through her laundry looking for her white denim outfit Kagura had picked out for her, and a pair of wayward underwear caught Kagome's hair as she passed.

Shuddering and flicking it off she continued to Sango's room, but it was empty. So was Ayame's.

Both girls were holed up in the bathroom, loud music blaring and cosmetics smattered over the walls and mirrors. Rin was jostling for mirror space, but gave up when Sango elbowed her nose, hard. Retreating from the feminine frenzy, Kagome caught her arm. "Why don't you use my bathroom?" She pointed her thumb upwards.

Rin smiled. "Thanks, Kags."

"Git!" Kagome swatted at her little sister's behind as she hurried up the stairs, disappearing in the light of the setting sun coming through the window at the top.

Having freed up some space in the bathroom, she wedged her way in, shouting, "Pregnant lady coming through! Gotta pee!"

"Oh, right, _Lady_ my ass!" Sango retorted, but held her ground as her sister did her business, refusing to give up her position in front of the mirror even when things started to stink.

Kagome chuckled evilly. "How long can you stand me, _ssssisters_?"

Sango, her nose pinched shut, huffing through her mouth, replied, "We got dates tonight, woman! _Hell itself_ could not remove us from this bathroom until we are good and ready!"

Giving in and relenting, Kagome left, sighing. How quickly her sisters were growing up. She'd not miss this when they were gone. At least, she hoped she wouldn't.

"Found it!" Kikyou came running from her room, wearing nothing but her underwear, waving her dress over her head. Kagome laughed. "Well, the first step is to put it on."

Kikyou looked down. "Oh yeah. Hehehe."

Running back to her room, she slammed the door, and then Sango pronounced herself satisfied, and left the bathroom to Ayame, who muttered, "Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out!" and did just that as she "helped" her sister leave and closed the door on her behind.

Sango huffed. "You're so rude, Ayame."

A muffled, "You know it!" came through the door.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"Oh Jesus," Sango breathed and ran to her room, "I'm not ready!"

Kagome opened the door, facing her fiancee. "Hello, sweetness," he said, pecking her lips, and she reluctantly let him go as his brothers stared wide-eyed, soaking up everything they could about intimacy just from watching their brother.

"I come bearing handsome young men," he smiled, flinging her over his shoulder, much to her embarrassment. They waved goodbye to her as Sesshoumaru carried her away, then stepped inside themselves, kicking off their shoes and sitting on the couch to wait.

Kouga pulled at his collar. "Damn it, why are we wearing suits again? This sucks."

Miroku leaned past Inuyasha to stare sardonically at his brother. "They don't call it a semi-formal so you can dress casually, you moron."

"Shut the hell up, _Assmaster_!"

"Why don't you make me, _Turdburglar?_"

"Like you two could even take each other on," Inuyasha drawled, his arms thrown over the back of the couch. "Two pansies like you? Don't make me laugh."

Kouga turned on him, jabbing him in the ribs and retorting, "Like you can talk, Inuyasha. You let Shippo get the best of you, remember? And he's three years younger!"

Shippo smirked, and Inuyasha glared at him, the memory souring his good mood. "You forget that Shippo outweighs me by like, fifty pounds. What he did was unfair."

"He still beat your pretty ass, didn't he?" Kouga held up his hand, and Shippo high-fived him, grinning. Miroku sighed. _Animals. All of them!  
_

A slap resounded from somewhere down the hall leading to the girls' bedrooms, and a shouted, "Ow!" followed soon after, then a screeched, "Get out of my closet, Ayame!"

Kikyou poked her head out the door and screamed, "For the love of God, you two, can't you share? Ayame, I'll share my clothes with you!"

A streak skidded into Kikyou's room but it was going so fast that Miroku, who could just make out Kikyou's head from around the corner, saw nothing but a blur before Kikyou shut her door.

He looked at his watch. Six-fifteen.

They were in for a long wait.

**S.T.**

Kanna turned around to admire the back of her blood-red dress, the diamonds sparkling attractively whenever she moved. The back was open, scooping down to the small of her back, the smooth skin bared for all to see. She glanced at her closet in the mirror; she'd heard no sound from there in almost four hours. Kagura must still be unconscious. She smirked. _Like she cared_.

Grabbing up a handbag that matched her dress, she meandered to Kagura's room, stopping to admire her reflection in the decorative mirror mounted on the wall between her room and Kagura's.

Reaching her door, she flicked on the light and shielded her eyes; Kagura had forgotten to close her shades, and the sun blinded Kanna as she went further into the red and white room that was Kagura's sanctuary.

She came to an abrupt halt when she spied the combination lock on her sister's closet. _Goddamn you, Kagura_… _even when you're tied up you're **still **a pain in my ass.  
_

Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, she ran from the room, and headed to the basement once more. Returning, she held a red multi-driver in one hand, a stiff drink in the other.

Contemplating the handles, she found no outer screws, and the hinges to the doors were on the inside. She snarled, her face shifting from beautiful to ugly in half a second. Backing up, she finished her drink in three gulps and threw the empty glass and driver on Kagura's bed. Touching the opposite wall, she used it for momentum as she rushed the doors, her foot lashing out and cracking the wood, but not enough to gain her access.

"Bitch," she muttered as she tried again, this time splintering the wood and making a large hole. Tearing through that, she pulled the mangled doors off their hinges and smiled brightly, proud of her success.

Perusing the many pairs of shoes her sister had inconveniently decided to keep under lock and key, so to speak, she found what she'd been looking for: a pair of black stiletto heels, with ties that fastened up her leg, dusted with sparkling rhinestones.

Extracting them from her mess, she carried them downstairs and flung them on the mat by the door, to put on when Juuromaru came to get her - or Kagura, rather. She giggled as she recalled the excuse she'd made up to get him to take her, instead.

_Juuromaru, you'll never know what hit you_, she thought, taking a bottle of water from the refrigerator, and winking at her reflection in its stainless-steel surface, _but Kagura will! _

**S.T.**

Juuromaru pulled up to the curb in front of the big red and white house on Shinjiro Drive at five to seven. Killing the engine, he re-checked that his cufflinks were securely fastened, then grabbed the bouquet of red roses from the passenger seat. Checking his tie in the rear-view mirror, satisfied with his tying job, he strolled up the walk and rang the bell, stepping back to wait.

**S.T.**

Kanna sipped her water, flicking from channel to channel. _God, television here was so boring.  
_

The doorbell rang, and she almost choked on her water. "Coming!" she called, stopping to check her appearance in the foyer mirror before she opened the door. Grinning at her perfect reflection, she checked her breath before opening the door with a flourish.

Juuromaru looked _hot_ in a navy-blue pinstripe suit, a deep wine-coloured tie, and his hair loose, framing his clean-shaven face. She saw his discomfort and how he tried to hide it. She smiled brightly at him, hoping to ease him.

"Juuromaru! Don't you look dashing?"

He smiled back, but it was forced. He took in her red dress, and couldn't help the strident increase in his heart-rate.

She opened the door wider, inviting, "Come in."

He did, and she grabbed her purse, then sat down to put on her shoes. He frowned.

"Where's Kagura?"

Kanna looked up, pausing, and sighed heavily. Shaking her head, she replied, "She came down with the flu just a little while ago. It must have been something she ate, because she was fine earlier today."

He looked up the grand staircase, but could see nothing to dispute her claim.

"She was fine when I was here earlier, too."

"She told me. She also told me ask you to take me in her place."

His brow shot up in skepticism. "She did?" _Didn't Kagura hate her sister?  
_

"Yes. She also asked me to tell you how sorry she is to impose on you like this. I mean, taking me and all. I told her that I wouldn't dream of going with you in her place, but she insisted. I felt so bad that she couldn't go, I just couldn't bring myself to dispute her wishes."

He frowned outright. _I'll bet you didn't_.

Sighing, he let his shoulders sag. He really didn't have a choice. _Hey_, his conscience reminded him, _at least Kanna's hot. The night isn't a total loss_.

_Shut up_, he thought, and remained stoically silent as Kanna bared her creamy leg to his view, tying her straps tight around her calf.

When she stood, he handed her the bouquet. "Thank you," she said graciously, not at all the harlot she had played a couple nights before.

Walking to the car, he opened the door for her, and she slid in, quickly checking her teeth while he rounded the car to get in the other side. When he was in, and had started the Maserati, she touched his arm, and he looked at her hand before lifting his suspicious gaze to her innocent one.

"Juuromaru, please forgive my behaviour the other night. I'd had a few too many to drink before you came and I acted way out of line. I'm so sorry. Can you forgive me?"

Juuromaru contemplated her eyes, dark as night, but could find no deceit there. She was either sincere or a very good actress. He decided to give her the benefit of the doubt for now, though it didn't change his mind about who he preferred, and that was Kagura. Her company was much more comfortable, not at all cloying or suffocating.

"It's alright," he replied, shifting the car into gear and pulling out.

"Thank you," she breathed, smiling delicately. "I promise to be on my best behaviour from now on. No more bubbly for me!"

He couldn't help but feel that, even though the mood had lightened, he was still in the near clutches of a venomous spider, just waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.

**S.T.**

Kikyou snuggled closer to Inuyasha in the back seat of Sesshoumaru's Mustang. He glanced at her, and smiled fondly at her upturned face, and she grinned back, for once able to look at him without memories of Kanna's treachery resurfacing.

Kagome looked back at them and smiled. Nudging Sesshoumaru, who briefly looked her way, she caught his eye and jerked her head toward the back seat.

Looking in the rear-view mirror, Sesshoumaru had to smile to himself at the sight of his brother and his fiancee's little sister. They really were a very handsome couple.

Reaching out with his right hand, he sought out Kagome's and clasped it tight, their hands resting on her left thigh. She sighed in momentary contentment.

The rest of the group had taken the Hatchback, since there was only room for so many. At Kagome's insistence, Sesshoumaru had offered to drop off the remaining pair, which turned out to be Inuyasha and Kikyou.

Pulling up to the school, Sesshoumaru put his red monster in park and flung an arm over the back of his seat as he turned around, saying, "Have fun, you guys. And no drinking and driving!"

Rolling their eyes, they thanked him and climbed out, Kikyou squeezing her sister's hand for reassurance as she did.

"Have fun," Kagome whispered, and, pulling Kikyou closer, whispered, "And keep an eye out for Kanna." Nodding, Kikyou set her pretty face into one of grim determination. "I'll do my best, Kagome."

Smiling, Kagome waved as Sesshoumaru pulled away to make room for other cars dropping off smartly-dressed young ladies and dapper young men, and Kikyou thought about Kagome's baby, and marvelled at the fact that she would be an aunt. Why she'd thought of that now, she couldn't fathom, for her sister's pregnancy was important, but it wasn't the foremost thing on her mind, either.

Suddenly, she had a vision, where Kagome lay battered and bleeding on a highway, unable to move as a passing motorist didn't swerve in time and ran her over, flattening her body and spraying blood everywhere.

Inuyasha looked back when Kikyou didn't follow him, and calling her name, watched her jolt out of what seemed to be a trance.

"Come on, Kikyou! They're playing your favourite song!"

Kikyou blinked, and gasped, before regaining her composure and laying a hand over her heart. It was pounding like a hammer on an anvil, and tears had gathered in her eyes. As Inuyasha came back for her, she shook them off, and tried to forget what she'd just seen, but couldn't; try as she might, it followed her into the party and haunted her thoughts until the arrival of one Kanna Onigumo cleared everything but anger and resentment from her mind.

**S.T.**

Kagura blinked and opened her eyes, but she could see nothing. Testing her limbs, she found them to be tied, and her head felt like it would split in two.

Leaning back, she sniffed; her prison smelled musty, like old shoes. _Was she in a closet or something?_ She struggled to remember how she'd gotten here, and wondered just how long she'd been here, as well.

Memory flooded over her as the image of Kanna's bared teeth and black, remorseless eyes flung something hard and silver at her head. She couldn't remember anything after that; and very little before. She could remember her name, and her friends, and Juuromaru, and Kanna, but she couldn't for the life of her remember how she'd gotten to wherever she was.

Feeling around with her semi-numb fingers, she found a knot in the rope binding her wrists behind her back and, bunching her legs up tight under her chin, she managed to slip her bound hands under her backside and over her legs, hissing as her muscles burned with each inch that she moved.

Finally, her hands resting in her lap, her muscles cramping and relaxing, only to cramp again, she began to wiggle her fingers and increase the blood flow, and soon feeling returned. Working the knot loose, she quickly untied her feet and tried to stand, but bumped her sore head hard on a shelf about five feet up the wall behind her.

"Son of a bitch!" She held her head, tears falling as she rode out the pain, and, feeling the spot gingerly, discovered only a goose egg, nothing more.

Leaning forward, she muttered, "Where the hell am I?" and pushed with her hands on the surface she could feel before her in the dark. It creaked, and gave, but only enough to let in light from a lately setting sun through a crack in what did indeed appear to be a set of closet doors. Holding the doors out so she could get a glimpse through the crack, Kagura recognised her surroundings immediately, despite the harsh glare of the sun; she was in Kanna's room! Or her closet, to be precise.

"Kanna!" she yelled, banging on the doors, "Let me out! _Now_!"

No response. Surely if Kanna were there she'd return to gloat upon hearing Kagura shouting, but she never came. Backing up, Kagura tried to kick open the door, but couldn't get enough momentum or speed in the tiny space to make any progress. Slumping back against the wall, she brought her hands to her face, and let her tears fall freely. _She'd done it again!_

She'd let down her guard and Kanna had taken immediate advantage of it, and now look where she was - stuck in her sister's closet with no possible way of getting out, at least until someone came and let her out.

As Kagura cried, the darkness around her became lighter, and every time she opened her eyes to wipe away her tears, things began to come into focus: a shoe here, a discarded bag there, until she could make out the clothes hanging above her and the steel rods lining the walls and holding up the shelves above her.

Sniffling, and wiping her snotty nose on a pair of Kanna's jeans (this gave her a supreme satisfaction she couldn't begin to describe), she spotted something in a far corner that she ordinarily would have missed in her misery: a baseball bat.

_Why does Kanna have a baseball bat in her closet?_ She wondered, reaching out and closing her fingers around it's cool, smooth surface.

Dismissing her thought, since it wasn't important, she stood up without hitting her head and, gripping the bat tightly, swung with all her might at the crack between the doors.

Her first hit revealed no success, but she tried again, and again after that, until a sharp _crack!_ was heard, and wood splinters tinkled to the floor in a resounding symphony, beckoning Kagura to her freedom.

Baring her teeth, Kagura swung one more time, putting all her strength into the hit, and turned her head away as the door splintered open, slivers flying everywhere, and the door fell part-way open, a space wide enough for her to slip through.

Smiling, she wriggled out of her trap, and stood up straight in the fresh air of her sister's room, the sun blinding her as she revelled in her freedom.

"Jesus, finally!" she panted, looking at the bat in her hands. It was signed by Roger Clemens, and had a phone number scribbled underneath the signature.

_Is there no limit to your audacity, Kanna?_ Kagura didn't even want to know how Kanna had obtained the bat, and threw it away as soon as she could.

Stomping from the room, wondering what time it was, she blew past the hall mirror but came back, slowly, and looked with horror at her reflection.

Her left temple, dark, was crusted with dried blood that had trickled down the side of her neck and disappeared inside her collar. Her eyes were blackened, and the whole left side of her face had begun to turn an ugly shade of purple. _The colour of dead meat_, she thought, tears once again falling as she tenderly touched her face, only to wince in pain at the slightest pressure from her fingertips.

_Kanna, you have hurt me for the last time_, she fumed, baring her teeth at her reflection.

Turning, she ran down the stairs, and paused at the bottom, spying a small pile of pink pieces of broken plastic swept off to one side. Crouching next to it, she swore as she sifted through the remnants of her cell phone, her three-thousand yen MuchMusic phone, and she fisted her hand, not feeling the sharp edges of the shattered plastic bite into the skin of her good hand.

Her fresh blood dripped unnoticed as a cloud of rage settled over Kagura's mind.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, she was further incensed at discovering it to be seven forty-five, already!

Getting up, Kagura grabbed her house keys and slammed the door behind her. She had a bone to pick with her sister, and the more people who saw her, the better. Everyone at that dance would soon see Kanna for the scheming, conniving little bitch she really was, and Kagura vowed to stop at nothing to expose her sister and stop her plans for stealing that Jewel!

**S.T.**

Juuromaru pulled the Maserati into a parking spot and got out to open Kanna's door for her. All the way there she'd chatted warmly, asking him about his hometown and telling him all about her boarding school days.

Despite himself, he began to warm up to her, and actually smiled at her when he took her arm after shutting the car down behind her.

Kanna grinned back, but not too much; she didn't want to appear to eager to be his new date. _Although he was devilishly handsome_…

Still, he was not essential to her plan, so she would eventually discard him as she had so many before him. She sighed. It was almost a shame really.

They went through the back doors of the building and the music coming from the gym blared in their ears. Juuromaru's heartbeat was lost to his own ears as the bass of Justin Timberlake's new song, _Sexyback_, reverberated throughout the walls of the entire school.

Showing the chaperoning teachers their tickets, Juuromaru led Kanna through the doors, and into the darkened gym.

**S.T.**

Kikyou smiled as Inuyasha offered his arm, and led her down the two flights of stairs to the first floor of the school, where the gym was located.

She laughed outright as he heard the song that was playing, and began to dance like an idiot right there in the hall.

"Inuyasha, I had no idea - you - were such a - great - dancer!" She had to hold her sides, she was laughing so hard.

He grinned and grabbed her, swinging her about as they rounded a corner of the hallway, the gym in sight, when Kikyou gasped for the second time that night.

Inuyasha stopped spinning her and turned to see what she was looking at.  
There, coming through the back doors, were Juuromaru and… _Kanna_?!

Behind them, their siblings followed, arriving a few minutes behind them. Bumping into the two still figures, Miroku lifted a brow and observed, "You two look like you've seen a ghost."

"A boyfriend-stealing bitch is more like it," Inuyasha growled and pointed toward the gym doors, where everyone saw for themselves just who was leading Kanna's arm.

"Where's Kagura?" Kikyou whispered, digging through her purse.

"Why is Kanna with him? Who is that, anyway?"

"Don't you know anything, Kouga? That's Juuromaru Sasuke. He's the hot new senior from Osaka, and every girl in this school has been going on and on about him for weeks."

"Oh. Well, I'm not interested in other guys, dummy!" Kouga pouted, and Ayame shook her head, patting his shoulder. "It's okay, we forgive your ignorance."

He eyed her angrily, askance, but kept his mouth shut.

Kikyou pressed _End_ on her phone. "I got the unavailable customer message. Kagura _never_ turns off her phone. Something's wrong, you guys."

Sango put her hands on her hips. "Then why don't we go ask Miss High-and-Mighty Kanna what the hell's going on?"

"Yeah!" Shippo and Rin rejoined, and, as a group, they showed their tickets and entered the dark, romantic atmosphere of the semi-formal dance.

Kikyou had another brief flashback of Kagome, bloody and lifeless, but it was gone almost before it had come. Shaking her head to clear it, she let her eyes adjust to the darkness and colourful lights coming from the stage and blinding her every few seconds, desperately trying to seek out Kanna.

**S.T.**

Kagura blinked back tears as the night grew darker around her. Limos with happy, drunk teenagers kept passing her, reminding her that she would not attend this dance and leave with happy memories of it. She had not bothered to clean herself up at all; Kanna would be mortified to have it known that this bloodied, black-eyed girl was her sister, and she was the reason that Kagura looked the way she did.

Kagura was half-way there, at the bottom of a hill, with another to climb, when her eyes started to swell shut. Clenching her fists, she forced her broken body to pick up the pace before her eyes swelled shut completely and blinded her to the outside world.

After her five-minute trek up the last hill, she faced a mountain of stairs to climb, and hung her head in exhaustion. The ground kept trying to spin away from under her, but she doggedly pushed on, climbing the concrete steps on her one good hand and knees.

Reaching the top, she collapsed and took a breather. _Kanna_, she thought, almost too tired to be angry, _when I get my hands on you_…

Pulling herself to her feet, she flung open the door and made her way downstairs, holding on tightly to the railing. Rounding two corners, she saw the chaperones through bruised eyes and groaned inwardly. She'd forgotten her ticket!

Oh well, it's not like she wanted to stay, looking like she did.

Trudging to the door, she managed to slip inside the dance unnoticed, while the two teachers manning the door had their backs turned.

Stepping inside, she blinked, but her vision didn't improve. It was dark, and her blackened eyes refused to cooperate and obey her brain. Leaning against a wall, she slowly made her way along it, till she heard someone call her name.

**S.T.**

Kanna danced like she used to, back at her old school. She'd been a dancing queen there; whatever moves she did, everyone followed, and it was no different here. She'd left Juuromaru, who claimed to be a bad dancer, at the refreshment stand. This was one of her favourite songs and she'd be damned if she let it pass without dancing to it.

Inuyasha sidled up to him, and Kanna watched without appearing to do so as they spoke, amiably at first, then with more gestures, until Juuromaru appeared to smooth Inuyasha's feathers and the latter walked away.

_Time to work_, she thought, sashaying up to him and pulling him onto the dance floor as a slow song came on.

"What did Inuyasha want?"

"He wondered why I brought you instead of your sister."

"Oh. What did you tell him?"

"What you told me."

_Good boy_.

"And what did he say to that?"

"He said that his girlfriend was worried about her because they're close friends and she hadn't heard from her since this afternoon."

_Tread carefully Kanna_, she soothed herself. _Play your cards right, and no one will know a thing.  
_

"She would have been too sick to call her. I really should have done it for her, but by the time I'd settled her into bed, it was almost time to leave."

He didn't reply, he only rested his chin atop her head, for want of somewhere to put it. She was a good deal shorter than he, but still taller than her sister, especially in those stiletto heels.

He scanned the room around him as it seemed to float in the beams of light cast by the twirling disco ball above his head. He saw Inuyasha again, who was watching him, and his tiny girlfriend, who stood out in an outfit of pure white. They were with a bunch of other people but he didn't recognise them, and soon his back was to them anyway.

Kanna steered him carefully, so that for the majority of the song his friend remained behind him, out of sight. _The less contact with Inuyasha, the better for me_, she thought, sliding her hands up his back to bracket his wide shoulder blades, once again capturing his attention. Looking up at him, her face set in an expression of deep shyness, she saw his eyes stray to her full lips from beneath her own lashes, and lifted her head slightly, encouraging him to lower his to meet her as her arms snaked around his neck, but at that moment, since they had worked their way to his facing Inuyasha and the door again, something caught his eye and he said, "Who is_ that_?"

Turning his face back to her own, Kanna tried to get him to look at her, but instead of kissing her, he let her go, to stare at whatever he had seen.

Frustrated, and just a little more than angry, she spun around, and the anger she felt multiplied tenfold, for there, groping through the dark room full of drunk and happy teenagers, wandered Kagura.

**S.T.**

Sango swatted Miroku's hand away for the fifth time. "That's enough PDA, Miroku! Don't make me tell you again!"

He removed his hands and bowed to her. "My deepest apologies, fair Sango. Would you care to dance with me?"

She looked at his hands dubiously, which he quickly held up, to show he had nothing to hide. She rolled her eyes, but before they reached him, she caught sight of something peculiar shimmying its way along the wall, something distinctly familiar.

_Is that? No, it couldn't be_…

"Kagura? Is that you?"

Hearing her name, Kagura turned toward it, and heard footsteps approach her, then Kikyou's voice.

"Oh, Kagura, what happened to you?" The way she said it made everyone who heard her want to cry, and Kagura herself began to sniffle all over again.

"You were right Kikyou, she did it again," she sobbed, and they led her to the nearest empty table, so she could sit and tell them her story.

Inuyasha knelt before her and took her good hand, while Kikyou rubbed her shoulder comfortingly, saying, "You're alright, you're with us now," and an accompaniment of "Yeah's" followed her comment. She smiled a little, before wincing from the pain in her temple.

Inuyasha brought up his other hand, saying, "What is all over your…" he trailed off as he tipped her chin up and away and saw the dried trail of blood flaking off her neck and disappearing into a bloody blotch on the shoulder of her shirt.

Kouga leaned over. "What?"

"Jesus, what did she do, crack you with a brick?" He took in her black eye sockets and their swollen eyelids, her purple cheekbone, her broken hand a bright white blob in the darkness of the cavernous room, the tiny scratches on her arms from her struggle out of her closet prison puffed up and red and angry-looking.

"I believe it was a hair dryer. I can't really recall."

"Oh my God," Kikyou breathed, coming around to kneel next to Inuyasha at her best friend's knee. "Oh, Kagura..."

Kagura sniffed, and continued. "She tied me up and confined me in her closet. I came to there not too long ago and beat my way out with a baseball bat."

Sango put a hand over her mouth, and for once Miroku placed a supportive hand on her shoulder, not her ass.

Ayame sat back hard, stunned at the lengths Kanna would go to just to hurt Kagura, her own flesh and blood. She couldn't begin to imagine how Kagura must feel.

Shippo felt his heart go out to the abused girl before him. She may have started out much like her sister, but with time, and the love of good friends, she'd bloomed into a happy, healthy, fun-loving girl who went out of her way to right her wrongs, fix others' mistakes, and mend relationships. Kikyou and Inuyasha would still be at odds if it hadn't been for her, as would Kagome and Sesshoumaru. She had made the right decision and had let Sesshoumaru go, as soon as she saw how much he loved another. Overall, she was a fine girl, and a great friend, and she didn't deserve to be treated this way, and he became angry as he looked up to see Kanna walking toward them, her face set, Juuromaru following.

They all watched Kanna approach with a mutinous look in her eyes. Not a single one of them could muster an ounce of compassion for her at that moment if they had tried; her actions had further damned her in their eyes. She would never be welcome among them again, not after this.

But Kanna paid them no attention; she had eyes only for the sister she now wished she'd offed, so her plans could go smoothly, for once.

"Kagura!" she hissed, grabbing her sister's arm and jerking her up out of her chair. "_What the fuck are you doing here_?"

She tried to drag her away, but Kagura dug her heels in and stood her ground. Juuromaru stood behind Kanna, and got his first good look at Kagura's face. It shocked him.

"Kagura! What happened? I thought you were at home, sick! Who did this to you?" He pushed Kanna aside and took her hands in his, and Kagura smiled weakly at him, allowing him to wrap her up in his arms. From their safety she glared at Kanna, who stood alone, an outcast from the group.

"_She_ did this to me. She did everything, didn't you Kanna?"

Kanna said nothing, but the smile on her face plainly implied that she didn't have to.

"I can't believe you. Tricking him into taking you to the dance? What, you couldn't go with Inuyasha so you decided to steal my date instead? Is there no limit you will stoop to to get what you want, Kanna? Jesus, what is wrong with you?!"

Kikyou stiffened slightly in Inuyasha's grip as Kagura mentioned his name, and her brow furrowed into a frown, as did his. Sango glared, Miroku snorted, Kouga crossed his arms, Ayame curled her lip in disdain. Rin refused to look at her and Shippo held her close, his face a mask of disgust.

Yet through it all, Kanna only smiled. It unnerved them all.

Juuromaru stared at her after Kagura finished speaking, and said, "I can't believe this! To think, you almost had me liking you again, after what you did the other night… you're a bitch, Kanna, and what you've done to me and Kagura and everyone else is unforgivable. I hope you're proud of yourself."

She smirked, and replied, "Oh, I am. You've all felt my influence at one point or another, no? Felt my love, my hate, my body-" she looked at Inuyasha, who growled and clenched both fists, unconsciously pulling Kikyou tighter to him, "-my contempt. What are you going to do about it? I have committed no real crime, so you have nothing. Don't think you've won, because the battle is just beginning, my _friends_."

Sauntering away toward the dance floor, she paused, and threw over her shoulder, "Tell Kagome I say hello." And disappeared into the crowd.

Kagura broke down then, and cried into Juuromaru's chest as he held her quivering body tightly, kissing the top of her head and rubbing her back.

Kikyou, incensed at Kanna's parting words, had had enough. She was ready to go. "Come on, everyone," she said, leading the way, "let's go home."

**S.T.**

Whoa, turbulent times at Tokyo High! lol, I'm a loser, thank you, thank you. Well, how didja like it? Good? Bad? Shittiest thing you ever read? Too bad, I ain't fixin' it! I'm too lazy, as you'll discover, if you didn't already know, that is! Review me, babes, I want your thoughts, feelings ideas, whatever. I WANT IT, I WANT IT!!! - Yes, Miss Hilton. - I WANT IT!!!


	29. Chapter 29

Holy shit, you guys, I'm so sorry I made you wait this long!! I have been ultra busy with work, cuz there was a flu break out and all the old people were sick, not to mention the employees, but luckily I have managed to avoid it... so far! Knock on wood! And the writer's block, which was mostly just me feeling lazy, all this poster making, which is a lot of fun, and that near-migraine last night... let's just say it's been a hectic two weeks, along with no one taking me out for my birthday. It sucked ass. Don't ask. And my parents are ripping my bathroom apart. I'm getting a new toilet, am in fact sitting next to it right now. Yay. I'm surrounded by toilet parts.

Deds:

**Kitsune's Lover** - Lol, you have such wonderfully rotten torture ideas! I am still debating what's going to happen to her (I have a bit down) but you guys are so bloodthirsty. Have I made her so incredibly despicable?? Yay to me! I can do villains! Woot!

**cookiemonsterks** - Kanna lives in bliss until life bites her in the ass. She will get her commuppance, it's just hard trying to think of something bad enough!! I've never been on the Maid of the Mist. I did go under the falls, and I had a yellow slicker and it echoed and my dad held me on his shoulder so I could see!

**Du Weldervarden Farcai** - No, I love _you_! For reading so faithfully!!

**Mystical Hanyou** - Only time will tell! lol, I really have given Kagura the short end of the stick. Maybe she'll kill Kanna... in self-defense, of course... I dunno, too much thought!!

**Stercum Accidit** - Maybe. I need to re-mention that flash-back at some point... thanks for reminding me!!

**AldreaHart** - You bad girl! Reading instead of studying!! (Don't worry I used to do that all the time, and I graduated!) Thanks for neglecting your studies in favour of my story, I feel bad but good too, so it all balances out! (P.S. I work better under pressure, anyway. Do you?)

**amori kuwabara** - Thanks for waitin' so patiently! I'm sorry I made you wait. Sniff, now I feel bad again, bad Shannon...

Wow, seven reviews. What a record! (Is that a record??) I'd just like to thank you guys for sticking with me this far, and continuing to encourage me even when I get sick or have to work too much or am incredibly tired or blocked. Thanks, you guys, I love you all!!!

**Sweet Temptation**

Kanna melted into the crowd, but her self-satisfied smile slid from her lips as soon as they were out of her sight. She had to leave. _Now_.

Going out the door that lead directly outside, open only a fraction to let out all the heat in the crowded gym, she slipped away. She got to the stairs to the parking lot before she flung her shoes off in frustration, they were hurting her feet so badly.

Breathing heavily, she leaned over the railing, then, ramming her fingernails into her scalp, she locked her jaw and screamed as loud as she could with her mouth tightly shut, and crouched in a squatting position, and let the bittersweet tears of frustration flow down her flawless white cheeks.

Kanna stayed there for a while, crying her heart out. She felt so unloved; _she always had_.

**S.T.**

Her earliest memories were of her Father, Naraku. She would watch him from his study door as he talked on the phone, or dealt with an employee, or even an investor or business partner, silently observing his skills of manipulation and aptly absorbing it all. She had been three years old then; she would not begin to speak and put her observations to use until she was five.

It had been her birthday. She had seen a horse for the first time on a class trip in kindergarten, and wanted one so badly she thought she would die. So, when her birthday came around, she once again stood at her Father's study door, silent as a ghost, awaiting permission to enter.

He ignored her for the better part of an hour, before he finally glanced up and without a smile of greeting or a look of concern, simply said, "What do you want, Kanna? I'm busy."

Creeping in, for she had still been afraid of him then, she slowly came around the enormous desk and stood at his elbow.

His eyes would stray to her, then back to whatever he was doing, until he blew air out his nose in a rush and turned on her, yelling, "Today, _brat_! Spit it out!"

Trying her hardest not to flinch at his outburst, she looked at the floor, then brought her black eyes up to meet her Father's. She saw uncertainty in his eyes, only for a fleeting moment, and said slowly, "I want a pony, Daddy. You'll get it for me like a good boy, won't you?"

She held up his favourite Rolex, a gold one with diamond chips marking the numbers on the faceplate, a hammer in her other hand. His mouth dropped open, then he snapped it shut. And he'd slapped her. Hard.

"Try that again you little bitch and I'll sell _you_ on the black market. And put my watch back. You are not to go in my room without permission ever again. Is that clear?"

She was still on the floor, silent tears wetting her cheeks, just like they were now. It was a few months after that that he'd informed her and Kagura that he was sending her to a boarding school in England. Kanna had grown up hating her Father, for sending her away, and for making it so difficult to earn his love and approval. As the years passed, she grew to hate Kagura as well. She must have been father's favourite, she reasoned, since he hadn't sent _her _away.

**S.T.**

Finally getting up, and wiping the tears from her now splotchy and red face, Kanna took off her shoes and walked home slowly, dejected.

It was as she passed Kikyou's street that she remembered the Jewel. Curious, she crept to the Higurashi residence in the dark, barefoot and tear-stained, and looked in the only window she could reach. It was a basement window, and from what she could see from the light filtering down the stairs from the room above, it was girl's room; it had a raised platform for the bed, and the walls were panelled with fake wood, the carpet a dark blue. The bed was small, and there were clothes strewn everywhere.

_Middle-class_, she thought scornfully. _Should be easy to get in_.

Circling the house, she deduced that no one was home. In fact, quite a bit of noise was coming from the backyard next door.

Peeking over the fence, Kanna spotted Kagome and Sesshoumaru sitting together on the side of the pool, Kagome's stomach slightly more rounded and bulging, Sesshoumaru's hand resting on it as he whispered in her ear, making her blush. Apparently his parents had decided to throw an impromptu pool party congratulating Sesshoumaru and Kagome on their forthcoming marriage and baby, according to the banner that was hastily thrown up over the back patio door.

_Perfect. No one would notice her under all the noise from next door_.

Slinking back to the house, Kanna tried the back door; it was open. Closing it quietly behind her, she could hear nothing but the dull hum of the air conditioner pumping air through the house as she explored it.

She began in the basement. It was obviously Rin's room, judging from the immaturity of the posters on the walls and the style of the clothes thrown about.

_How does the youngest girl in a family of five rate a basement room?_ She thought, going through Rin's collection of cheap jewellery before discarding it and moving on.

Their kitchen was a brightly lit affair, very cozy and in Kanna's opinion, sickening. The living room was very similar, the furniture arranged in a conversational setting, facing in and surrounding a small coffee table, worn from many feet resting on its battered surface. A small television sat in a stand in the corner, but no DVD player updated its modern look; only a VCR sat beneath it, gathering dust.

Sniffing in disdain, Kanna went down the hall, by-passing the stairs for now. The first room was very feminine, very messy, and _very_ stuffy. A fan spun lazily on the ceiling. Stepping inside, Kanna spotted a framed picture on the nightstand, amongst much clutter and debris: Kikyou and Inuyasha as children, about seven, their arms slung over each other's shoulders.

Kanna put a finger to her temple. As far as she knew, Kikyou and Inuyasha had just gotten together as a couple before she'd arrived, but this picture was obviously taken a very long time ago.

_Kikyou_, she thought, trailing said finger over the cheap metal frame, the words Best Friends embossed across the top, noting the love-struck way in which a young Kikyou gazed at her companion, _you've been hiding your love for a long time.  
_

She felt a pang of envy, but quickly suppressed it. He was history now, not worth her time.

Leaving Kikyou's room as she had found it, she went on to the next door.

This room was impossibly neat, and she doubted would it would yield to her what she was looking for, but she sated her curiosity anyway. A large boomerang hung on the wall, alongside various other sporting equipment, and the pink walls belied the feminine side of Sango that she tried to hide from the world. Homework lay half-finished on the desk, and the bed had not a wrinkle as Kanna's eyes swept the room.

_Boring, boring, boring_.

Ayame's room was next, if she'd deduced things right. The sheer amount of clothing and bric-a-brac gave that away, and the bed was only a twin; she highly doubted Kagome and Sesshoumaru would fit into something so small.

Closing the door without entering, she backtracked to the stairs leading to the second floor of the house, and held her breath as she climbed.

Kagome and Sesshoumaru's room was spotless. Their bed was made, their bathroom in order, and not a dirty sock or pair of underwear marred the cleanliness of their room. It smelled like Sesshoumaru's cologne, and she drew in a slow breath, savouring it. _He had good taste_, she thought lazily.

A large redwood box in the corner caught her eye. Opening it, she riffled through all the jewellery there: pearl necklaces, old bills and change from several years ago that were no longer in use, a delicate gold chain, a Buddha pendant, a diamond engagement ring set, two wedding bands engraved with her parents names, and a few crystal necklaces in various colours.

Kanna swore. _It wasn't there!_ The Jewel from her dream, as far as she could discern, was large, and round, she thought. And it was pink, of that much she was sure.

Turning, she looked through both nightstands, the dresser, the bathroom cabinet and even in the bathroom drawers. _Nothing_.

_She must have it with her_.

Kanna struggled to remember if Kagome had been wearing any jewellery when she'd seen her sitting on the side of the pool as she quickly searched the closet, uncovering a collection of shoes so stylish she thought she'd died and actually gotten into Heaven. There were stilettos in awesome colours, thigh-high boots, sling-backs, high-heels, and chunky, six-inch slut shoes. She picked up a pair of black leather six-inchers and kept them, figuring Kagome would never notice they were gone, now that she wasn't a stripper anymore.

_No, she hadn't been wearing anything except a pair of gold hoops in her ears, and an engagement ring on her finger_, she remembered, returning to her original train of thought.

Frowning, Kanna left the room, making sure to leave things exactly as they had been when she'd found them.

She left the house, and once again peeked over the fence. She had been right: Kagome was wearing no big, pink jewellery.

_Where the hell was it?_ Tsubaki had said that Kagome guarded it, and Kanna had found no safe in the house. It wasn't in her jewellery box and she wasn't wearing it.

_So where the hell was it?  
_

The possibility of a safety deposit box occurred to her, but Kanna thought it unlikely that Kagome would keep such a personal, powerful object in such an impersonal place. In fact, Kanna reasoned, if she were Kagome, she'd have it with her at all times. _But where would she keep it?  
_

Kanna left then, and walked slowly home, pondering where the Jewel of Four Souls could possibly be hidden.

Arriving at home, she once again went through the small box of her Father's possessions found on him after his death. Picking up the silver cigarette case, heavy in her delicate hand, and throwing the two pairs of shoes in her hand on the floor, she opened it, expecting to find cigarettes, but what was inside the case was far from a cigarette. A small book was inside.

Flipping it open, she went up the stairs, engrossed in her Father's journal, absorbing every little thing he had written about the Sacred Jewel.

**S.T.**

Sango helped Kikyou manuever Kagura out the same door Kanna had left through, only they were too far behind to have seen her leave.

Inuyasha blew air out his nose. _They were taking too long_.

Scooping Kagura up in his arms, he felt her place her arms around his neck tightly, favouring her left hand.

Removing themselves from the noise and the party, Sango yanked out her cell phone and began to dial.

Kikyou looked at her and said, "What are you doing?"

"I'm reporting that bitch. She's going to pay for everything's she's done to poor Kagura."

Shippo hooted and Rin clapped. Kikyou and Ayame smiled at each other and Miroku slung an arm over Sango's shoulder, whispering, "You go girl," in her ear as the phone against her other ear rang.

"Yes, I'd like to report a case of abuse. Kanna Onigumo is the abuser. Eight hundred Shinjiro Drive, Tokyo. She's fourteen. What?!"

Everyone listened intently to Sango's side of the conversation, and Inuyasha felt Kagura tighten her grip at the surprise in Sango's voice.

"What do you mean, you can't do anything?" A pause. "So, just because she's a minor, there's nothing you can do? Fuck! Sorry ma'am, thank you. Goodbye."

Flipping her phone shut, Sango sighed impatiently.

"What did they say?"

Fuming, Sango snarled, "They said it's a domestic dispute scenario and that since she's a minor, it's up to the parents to deal with her. They said we could file a report, but it would only give her a record. Nothing would happen to her unless Kaede does something about it."

Inuyasha felt his heart twist as Kagura's head fell in defeat. She had a really bad habit of ending up with the short end of the stick, especially when dealing with her sister.

Kikyou shook her head. "Let's just go. We can discuss this when we get home."

**S.T.**

The following morning, Kaede returned to the house and found Kanna sound asleep, a small book in her hand and her dress still clinging to her curled-up body, covered in wrinkles. Kagura's room was empty.

She frowned. The girls were getting a little too careless, she felt. They hardly told her where they were going anymore, and this was the only time she'd been away overnight. She began to feel as if her authority over them was slipping away. _And hadn't Kanna said she wasn't feeling well yesterday? Why was she wearing a dress if she was sick?  
_

Walking past the phone, the flashing number _One_ made her stop. Pushing the button, she listened to the message:

"Miss Kaede? This is the Tokyo Police calling. We got a report about your youngest daughter, Kanna. If you could give us a call that would be great. We're in the phone book. Ask for extension two-two-six. Have a nice day."

Kaede's brows went up. _When had this happened?_ She'd gotten a feeling from Kanna, that she was capable of much more than she let on, but she hadn't seen anything… _there must be more to this than I know_, she thought, and, picking the phonebook out of the drawer of the desk the answering machine sat on, she looked up the number and phoned the police back.

After a five-minute conversation, she wrote a note and stuck it to the fridge, then, grabbing her keys, left the house, the tiny bits of swept away cell phone going unnoticed by her aging eyes.

She needed to find Kagura.

**S.T.**

Kikyou twitched her nose. All was still, then something went up there and didn't back out. She twitched it again, and someone snickered. She opened her eyes, and the grin dropped off Inuyasha's face.

They lay facing each other in her bed, and she smiled. "Inuyasha, get your finger out of my nose before I snot all over it."

Chastised, he removed his finger and wiped it on her blanket, where she couldn't see him do it, of course.

Rolling off the bed, the smile still on her face, she threw the covers back and walked out into the hall, giving him a perfect view of her backside.

Following, he closed the bathroom door behind them and watched her turn on the taps in the shower, then put the towels on the closed toilet seat before pulling back the curtain and stepping in. Without invitation, he followed suit.

She turned around to face him and he couldn't help it, his hands went directly to her breasts and held their weight in his hands. She calmly squeezed shampoo into her hand and, turning them so his hair got wet, she began to lather his hair and wash it, as if his hands on her were an everyday occurrence.

It occurred to him that she acted this way because it was natural for her, and she liked it. He began to lather her hair too, and kissed the water out of her eyes when he rinsed it out.

He rinsed his own hair when she came after him with conditioner. Letting him put that in himself, she lathered her legs with soap and shaved, while he washed his body.

When they were done, he pushed her against the shower wall and held her there with his body, even though she made no attempt to escape. He kissed her mouth, and murmured, "I love you so much," in her ear as he licked the lobe, then blew on it. It made her shudder, and she brought a smooth leg up to rub his backside, the contact creating warmth between them.

"I love you too, Inuyasha," she breathed as he made his way down her belly, then pushed his head away, "but we don't have time to do this here. Tonight." Her fingers brushed over his length, and he had a hard time letting her go, but she wriggled her way out, and, wrapping a towel around him, she sat him on the edge of the tub and blew his hair dry with the blow dryer, intermittently drying herself off with it. When he was completely dry, she pushed him out the door and locked it behind him. Frowning, he skulked to the kitchen to look for something to eat.

Kagura sat alone at the table, spooning Cheerios into her mouth. It seemed to be the only cereal anybody ever ate around here.

"Morning," she said, her eyes still almost swollen shut. His frown disappeared at her pathetic face.

"Morning. How're you feeling?" There was a softness in his voice she hadn't been expecting.

"Like shit. About what you'd expect." She moved so her hair covered the majority of her face.

"Aww, don't feel too bad," he said, rummaging through the fridge, "it makes you look tough."

She choked on her Cheerios, and replied, "It does? That's not exactly the look I was going for."

"Well, guys will respect you for it. It takes guts to take what you took from your sister, Kagura. You really are tougher than I gave you credit for."

Kagura felt her bruised face warm at his praise. Smiling, she flicked her hair away. "Thanks."

He smiled, then went back to looking for food. "Don't they have anything to eat in this joint? I'm a growing boy, I need food!"

Kagura giggled. "There's Cheerios."

Suddenly he flung open the freezer and shouted, "Hallelujah, they've got ice cream!"

She made a face. "Ew, ice cream for breakfast?"

"Sure. It's got milk in it." He kicked the door shut and pulled out the biggest spoon in the drawer he could find, and sat down across from her at the table.

Rin came up from downstairs, Shippo following behind.

"Good morning, Rin, Shippo." Kagura greeted, eyeing each of them suspiciously. Shippo frowned.

"We didn't do anything. Relax."

Rin looked confused, and Kagura let it go. Shippo pushed Inuyasha over and yanked his spoon away, and soon they were both eating the ice cream, but fighting over the spoon.

Rin made herself some Cheerios and brought an extra spoon when she sat down, next to Kagura, as far away from the backsplash as possible.

"Where is everybody?" she asked, her eyes still crusted over with sleep.

Kagura shrugged. "Still asleep, I guess."

Kikyou came in then, dressed and dried, her hair pulled into a high ponytail and a silk cloth folded over and wrapped around her head, so the ends fluttered over her shoulder.

She stopped dead at the sight of the two boys. "Are you two eating _my_ ice cream?"

Inuyasha and Shippo both froze, spoons half-way to their mouths. Rin shook her head. Kagura snickered.

Stomping over, Kikyou ripped it away from them and jammed the mutilated box back into the freezer.

"No stick for you!" she hissed, and set the Cheerios box on the table, along with milk and some sugar.

Inuyasha pouted. "No stick?"

"No!"

"Damn!" He crossed his arms and glared at Shippo, who had filled a bowl for himself and sat calmly eating it.

"Don't look at me bro, 'cause you're in shit. _You _opened it."  
Silence sat heavily upon them, until Sango entered the room, looking very tired.

"What's wrong, Sango? Miroku keep you up too late last night?" Inuyasha taunted, happy to have someone else in a mood as miserable as his was at the moment.

Sango looked at him over her shoulder, and actually growled. His eyes went wide and he jumped out of his seat, saying, "Here, take my spot. I was keeping it warm for you."

She took it, glaring at him in a manner which clearly stated _that's what I thought you said.  
_

Ayame came into the room, having just come from using her sister's bathroom upstairs, since Kikyou had monopolized the one on their floor.

"Hey you guys, look at this," she held out her hand into the middle of the table. Everyone leaned over to see what she had in her hand.

Several tiny rhinestones shimmered and sparkled in her hand, catching the light above the table and making them shine. Kagura recognised them instantly.

"I've been finding them all over the place, down the hall, in the living room, upstairs. See, there's one!" She pointed to the floor, and picked up another stone.

Kagura's throat began to tighten. _She'd been here_.

_What was she going to say?_ Her anger at her sister grew from enormous to gigantic. She felt as if she could not possibly hate her sister more than she did right now, and knew that this was the last thing her friends needed to hear, but that they must hear it nonetheless. She took a breath.

Ayame held one up to the light and remarked, "They're beautiful. I wonder where they came from?"

"I know."

They all turned to her. Kagura brought her hands to her face, to hide the tears gathering in her eyes, partly from anger, partly from shame.

"How do _you_ know?" Inuyasha asked belligerently, then softened when she turned tear-wet eyes in his direction. "Sorry," he said, coming to stand behind her. Kikyou laid her hand on her shoulder.

She sniffled. "I know because they are mine."

Kikyou stiffened slightly, and no one said a word as she whispered, "What do you mean, Kagura?"

Kagura felt terrible. _Why must her sister put her through this?_ She was lucky she still had friends in these people. _How much longer would they be willing to put up with her, and her sister's framing her?  
_

"Those stones are from a pair of my shoes." Inuyasha backed up and looked at Kagura's feet. She wasn't wearing shoes that had rhinestones on them. He frowned in confusion.

"Your shoes don't have rhinestones on them."

"I know. Do any of you remember what shoes Kanna was wearing last night?"

Everyone looked into themselves, trying to remember. Ayame brightened. She was a _fashionista_ among her sisters; if anyone noticed things like that, it was her.

She smiled. "She was wearing black tie-up stilettos, and they were covered in tiny-"

"-Rhinestones. Those are my shoes. She must have stolen another pair."

"But, that means-" Kikyou choked off, and Sango whipped her sleep-laden eyes up, spearing her with the intense look in them.

"-She was here, and very recently." Sango dropped her spoon like a rock, splattering milk on the table.

"Kanna steals your shoes?" Inuyasha asked, and Kagura, seeing that he had yet to see the point of the conversation, humoured him. "Yes. She seems to think that my shoes are her shoes, too. But I think we have a bigger problem here, Inuyasha."

"What was she doing in our house?" Sango gritted from between her teeth, and Kagura looked at her folded hands, shaking in her lap.

"She was looking for the Jewel."

Silence weighed over them again, but heavier than a lead sheet this time.

Kagura began to cry again. "I'm so sorry, you guys. I'll understand if you want me to leave." She got up to do just that but Kikyou stopped her. "No, Kagura. We're behind you. Kagome is our sister, and you are our friend. We will not abandon you just because your sister tries to come between us to get to her. You have nothing to do with our feelings toward Kanna."

Kagura crumpled, and Kikyou pulled her into her arms. "Shh, Kagura, it's alright."

"No, it's _not _alright, Kikki! I hate putting you all through my problems! It's not fair to any of you, and I feel horrible about it! I-I…c-can't let you d-do this..."

She was on the floor now, Kikyou holding her, crying too hard to speak.

Everyone gathered on the floor around her, and Kouga and Miroku watched from the doorway.

"Kagura, we're you're friends, we'll never abandon you," Inuyasha said, stroking her hair.

"Yeah, he's right. You're one of us, Kagura. You can count on it." Shippo said, Rin's fingers warm in his. She nodded her head in agreement.

"But I feel like such a burden to you guys," Kagura sobbed, holding her hand over her eyes.

Ayame sat before her, and took her broken hand in her own, dropping rhinestones all over. "Don't say that! We love you, Kagura! You're like another sister to us. We'd never hold what's happened against you."

She kept crying, partly because she was emotionally exhausted, and partly from happiness, at having such wonderful people in her life to balance out the one awful person in it.

"Thanks, you guys," she sniffled, and Kikyou whispered, "Don't forget Juuromaru, Kagura. I think he cares for you very much."

A round of knowing looks ensued as they all remembered last night, when Juuromaru had dropped Kagura off at the house, and they had all heard from their places on the front porch his words to her.

He had taken her hands in his as he helped her out of the car, and had pulled her close, and she had cautiously brought her arms up to hug him back.

"Kagura, will you come to me? The next time you need help?"

She had looked up at him then. _Who would want to help her?_ Then she had looked at her friends, smiling and giving her the thumbs-up, and had smiled, grasping the double-meaning of his request.

"Sure, Juuromaru. If that's what you want."

He had grinned, and slowly, lowered his lips to hers, and kissed her softly on the street, under the light, in front of all her friends, before trailing his fingers along her chin and smiling, getting back in his car and driving away.

She started to laugh, and they all giggled with her. "I care for him, too," she admitted, and sighed. "I'm tired."

She looked at Kikyou, who pulled her up, and lead her away to her room to sleep.

When she came back, everyone had settled around the living room.

"She's exhausted."

"I can imagine why." Sango stated, then got down to business. "Look, we need to discuss this. Kanna was in this house last night, looking for the Jewel. Does anyone know where Kagome is?"

The room was silent except for the swish of hair as everyone shook their heads. Inuyasha leaned back against the wall and remarked, "She's probably at our house."

Sango stood up. "Then let's go get her. I think she'll want to hear everything that's been going on."

They all got up to leave, but Kikyou lingered. "Who's going to stay with Kagura?"

Miroku instantly volunteered, "I will!", but Sango grabbed his collar and growled, "Not today, lech."

Rin looked up from under her bangs. "I'll stay with her, Sango."

Kikyou nodded for her sister. "Alright. Lock the door behind us."

Rin said she would, and they all left, and trooped next door, leaving Rin alone to watch over Kagura.

**S.T.**

Lol, the stick thing is a private joke between me and Rach, cuz one day we were vandalising her sketchbook and she wrote 'stick 4 u' on a post-it in there and drew a long stick, and we've been laughing about it ever since, so that's the story in case you guys were wondering. Can't wait to hear from you guys, and I promise not to make you wait another two weeks for the next chapter, okay? If I do, you may flame me, but _only _if I'm late!!! Remember, I said, "IF"!!!!


	30. Chapter 30

Oh my God, you guys, I did it again, I'm _sooo_ sorry! Life's just been so... blah, lately. I had a bit of a block, and I just got passed over for promotion at work twice! Arg! I hate the old folk's home. I want in at the hospital so badly... anyway, I will forgive any flames, but hope to make up for my tardiness by giving you an extra-long chapter, most of which I wrote today, so, please overlook my lateness, and enjoy, because there's a little lemony goodness happening here... though, I dunno how many will think the recipients of such goodness are really deserving, lol!

Deds:

**AldreaHart** - Bad girl! Oh well. College sucks. I wouldn't know personally, but my friends tell me it does. I dunno. Hope this satifies ya!

**jennie** - My great friend! You will get what you need! An update, that is. I was lucky, I never got the old people flu! Woot! Kanna is still kickin, but you are correct, Kagura's love life is about to shape up! In the next chapter, hopefully, lol! Stick 4 u??

**Mystical Hanyou** - Lol, he was pretty mean, wasn't he, that asshole!! You'll have to read and find out just what our evil villainess is up to!! Muahahaha!

**Stercoom Akeedite** - Good to know, Bill!! I have no idea what you were talking about after that!!

**cookiemonsterks** - Aww, you love my story! Well, yer gonna hate me, cuz she doesn't die yet, oops! Lol, she will eventually. She has to! She's evil. There's no reforming a girl like her. Baaaad to the bonnnne!!!

**Sweet Temptation**

Kaede drove to the Higurashi's. Just as she pulled into the driveway, a horde of teenagers were making their way next door, Kagura's best friend Kikyou among them.

Pausing, Kikyou came to the driver's side door and opened it for Kaede when she had turned the engine off, helping her out.

"Kaede! What are you doing here?" Kikyou's question sounded funny to her own ears, and everyone looked at each other, asking with their eyes, _Where has she been?_

"I'm looking for Kagura, child. It has come to my attention that Kanna may not be what she seems. I need to speak with her."

"Well, she's sleeping right now. Perhaps you'll learn more if you come with us?" she used her head to indicate her family behind her.

"Alright, child. At this point, I'm ready to hear whatever it is you might have to tell me."

Nodding, Kikyou lead the way through the front door of the Taisho's.

**S.T.**

Kagome rolled over, and felt nothing but air under her, and jumped, but it was too late; she was already on the floor.

"Ouch!"

Sesshoumaru looked in on her from the kitchen and began to laugh as he came over to help her up. The sight of her rubbing her backside was most comical.

"You know, I think we should have gone home last night. Our siblings are all streaming from our house this morning." He moved to the window, to observe the crossing between houses.

Kagome snorted. "As if we could stop them. They know where the condoms are."

Sesshoumaru raised a brow but didn't comment. He could care less what his brothers were doing as long as he was getting what _he_ was entitled to.

"Don't give me that look," she said, glaring. Her pride was still wounded.

He made a mock face of shock. "Me? Give you a look?" He came close, and burrowed into her thick mane of hair, and slid a hand over their growing baby. "I can do much better than that, sweetness."

She stood there and took his fondling, a smile growing on her lips. She wouldn't push him away, but she'd be damned if she returned the gestures.

"I'm sure you can. Who is that?"

Sesshoumaru turned around, but did not step away as they all came through the door, Kikyou leading and elderly woman by the hand.

Kagome pushed her hair out of her face and moved forward to greet her guest, but Kikyou beat her to the punch.

"Kagome, this is Kaede. She's Kagura's guardian."

Kagome shook Kaede's hand warmly, saying, "Good morning Kaede. Welcome to my husband's parent's home."

_What a mouthful_, Kagome thought, smiling.

"Good morning, Miss Higurashi, and thank you."

"Please, call me Kagome."

Looking around Kaede, Kagome said, "Take your shoes off, guys, and come have some breakfast."

Inuyasha barged his way through the crowded doorway, the mention of food spurring him. "Out of the way, people, hungry man coming through!"

The rest mumbled, still full from before their arrival.

Daichi stumbled down the stairs then, wearing only his jeans and covering his eyes, his hair standing up in every direction.

"What time is it? And why is it so loud in here? Where's my wife??"

Amaya came around the corner, hearing her name. "Yes, dear? What's the matter?"

Everyone watched with amusement as he lurched toward her and crushed her in a bone-crushing hug. "I'm _soo_ hungover!"

She laughed. "That's what happens when you play drinking games with your son, sweetheart. You know Sesshoumaru can hold his beer better than you can."

Sesshoumaru slapped his Father on the back, making him wince more at the noise than the pain. "Yeah, Dad. You should know better than to play out of your league."

All he got was a glare and a growl before Daichi walked into the kitchen, dragging his wife with him. Crustily he demanded, "Coffee!"

She extracted herself from him and raised a brow in anticipation. A full minute passed before he grumbled, "Please."

"That's better," she said, setting a cup before him, watching him throw it back and ask for more. _Black coffee_, she thought, cringing. _Gross_.

Kagome shut her mouth (Daichi had a supreme set of abs) and showed Kaede to a comfortable armchair facing the rest of the furniture. Making themselves comfortable, the two families once again convened in the Taisho living room to discuss their situation.

Kaede began, directing her questions to Kikyou. "Child, tell me what you know."

Kikyou drew in air through her nose, and Kagome asked, "Kikyou? Did something happen at the dance?"

Sango interjected, "You don't know the half of it, Sister."

Giving her an impatient glance, she returned her attention to Kikyou.

"Well, Sango's right. A lot has happened since yesterday. And none of it good for Kagura. Well, maybe a little. But not much."

Kaede leaned forward, waiting. Kagome waved her hand. _Keep going_…

"When we got to the dance last night, we saw Kanna there, and she wasn't alone."

Kaede interjected here. "She was? She told me yesterday on the phone that she was home so early because of a stomach ache. She mentioned no dance.

"I think there's a lot Kanna hasn't been telling you," Miroku commented from his perch behind Sango on the couch.

Kikyou kept going. "We tried calling Kagura's cell, but we got no answer, so we followed Kanna into the dance to confront her, but we lost her in the dark for a while. Then, Kagura showed up. Oh, Kagome," Kikyou put her hand to her mouth, and they all began to shake their heads in disgust.

"Kikyou, what? Tell us!" Kagome pleaded, holding her trembling sister in her arms. Kikyou sniffed, and wiped her nose on a tissue Kouga handed to her.

"Kagura had been badly beaten. As if a broken hand wasn't enough-"

"Kagura's hand is broken?" Kaede demanded, jumping up from her chair.

"It is. She got that two days ago, though. Last night, she showed up with a pair of black eyes, a bloody lump on her temple, and scratches all up her forearms. Her face was purple!"

Kaede sat back down, a hand over her heart. "Who did this?"

Kikyou turned to look the elderly woman in the eye, and she said in a voice that brooked no argument, "Kanna did."

"Kanna?" Kaede couldn't believe Kanna would do such things to her only sister. She knew there had been some animosity between them, but for things to have gone this far right under her nose… she regretted very much leaving them alone together these last two weeks.

"Where is Kagura?"

"She's in my bed, sleeping. I think we should wait for her to wake up, because we have another problem. Kagome, Kanna's after the Jewel!"

"I know, you said that yesterday."

"She was in your house last night, looking for it," Inuyasha said, filling the gap between Shippo and Kouga on the couch, stuffing the last bite of his pop-tart in his mouth.

Kagome's face went white. "Did she take anything?"

"Not that we know of. But she did leave rhinestones from her shoes all over, which was how we figured it out. Where were you last night?" Kikyou asked.

"We were here, Mom and Dad threw us a small party, with the neighbours." Sesshoumaru supplied, wrapping an arm around Kagome.

"I think it's time." Everyone looked to Amaya, who stood in the kitchen doorway, listening to the whole conversation.

"Time for what, Mom?" Kouga asked.

"Time to take care of Kanna." Kaede said, her voice like sandpaper. Getting up, she asked, "May I see Kagura for a moment?"

Kikyou nodded. "I'll take you."

They all watched her and Kaede leave, then stared at each other. Kagome fisted her hands, a hard look on her face. "It's like Naraku all over again," she said, her hand over her heart.

Sesshoumaru squeezed her reassuringly, and whispered, "I'll take care of you."

She smiled. "I know you will."

Inuyasha sat back, wondering what would become of Kanna. That _bitch should be committed_, he thought, flicking crumbs from his shirt, much to his Mother's consternation.

**S.T.**

Kagura rolled over, her hand suddenly warm. Opening her eyes, she looked into Kaede's horrified face through swollen eyes. "Kaede?"

"Kagura! What has she done to you? Oh, darling, I'm so sorry I left her with you…" Kaede pulled Kagura up off the sheet and folded her in her arms, and Kagura clung to her like a desperate child, letting her tears flow again.

Kikyou watched the pair in silence. She wondered if Kaede could really match Kanna on her own, since Kagura was badly injured. Kaede picked up her plastered and bolted hand and sighed, pulling Kagura's head to her breast and rubbing her forehead, murmuring over and over how sorry she was. Kikyou felt tears prick her own eyes and quickly blinked them away.

"Kaede, what are we going to do? She's unstoppable! She wants the Sacred Jewel, just like Father did!"

"I know, child, and I think that if we cannot stop her, young Kagome is more than capable of defending herself. She defeated your Father, didn't she?"

Kikyou nodded to herself. _So she had_. She sometimes forgot just how powerful Kagome really was.

"What are you going to do with her, Kaede?"

"I'm going to have her committed. She should not be around other people, to my way of thinking. My poor Kagura." She stroked Kagura's purple face gently, eliciting a small wince from the injured girl.

"Stay here for now. Don't come home. I'll take care of Kanna. Don't you worry, child." Kissing Kagura's split temple, Kaede removed herself from the bedding and left the room, giving Kagura one last glance.

Kikyou whispered, "Go back to sleep," and Kagura fell back, exhausted still from the emotional strain of the last couple days.

**S.T.**

Kanna awoke alone, and stripped off her red dress, the wrinkles in the fine material of no consequence to her. She'd never wear it again anyway.

Putting on a silk kimono house-coat, she threw her hair into a messy ponytail and, grasping the little black book, went down to the kitchen to find something to eat.

A note on the fridge momentarily caught her interest:

_Kanna, went out. Kaede.  
_

Shrugging, she drank straight from the orange juice carton and popped two pieces of bread into the toaster, getting out the peanut butter and jam while she waited.

Setting the book on the table, she made her breakfast and then sat down, opening it with one hand and eating with the other.

I_nteresting_, she thought, coming to a footnote in her Father's spidery script that read, _Sacred Jewel reacts when the Protector calls out it's name_.

_Protector? He must mean Kagome_. She flipped the page; the writing ended abruptly half-way down.

_According to legend, the Protector will absorb the Sacred Jewel into her heart and guard it for the remainder of her life. When she dies, it will cease to exist, until the next reincarnation is born. The Jewel should only be used for good, but if it falls into evil hands, it will enter a dormant state to avoid corruption. Only by the Protector calling out it's name, **Shikon No Tama**, can one hope to awaken it's power and corrupt it for himself_.

_**Very** interesting_, she thought, a slow smile spreading across her face. _So that's where you're hiding it…  
_

Flipping the book shut, she tucked it into the sleeve of her kimono and finished her breakfast, went upstairs, showered, dressed, and grabbed her purse.

It was a wonderful day to go shopping.

Her feet barely touched the ground as she made her way into downtown Tokyo, in a "borrowed" pair of six-inchers, of course. Just like a horse, good shoes had to be broken in by a new owner.

Taking the silver case from her purse, she walked through the crowded streets unseeing as she stared at the initials on the cover of the case, no emotion for her dead father surfacing. She even tried to rouse it, but it could not be done; she was glad he was gone, and could muster no love for his memory.

Opening it once more, she spied an empty bench and sat down, carefully removing the journal and looking for the business card she'd seen underneath. It was still there, strapped inside with a small strip of black Velcro, and, slipping it out, she turned it over and read the one line of script that decorated the back: _Mouso's Army Surplus, 500 Matsuteki Ave., Tokyo.  
_

She looked up at the street sign over her head. She was sitting where Matsuteki met Osaska street, and could see her destination from here.

Smiling, she stuffed the case back into her purse and, waiting for the crosswalk sign, made her way amongst a sea of people to the Army Surplus Store.

**S.T.**

Mouso Tatsumi sat alone in his store, polishing gun parts in a semi-darkness that suited his mood. His store was dingy, and not very many classy people came here; most of his customers were of the seedy persuasion, as was he himself.

A mediocre man his whole life, he'd taken his childhood fascination with weapons and earned a small but tidy living shipping, receiving, and selling guns no longer in use by the Army. Japan's reserves seemed almost a thing of the past now, though they still existed, and always would. No country was dumb enough to abandon their first line of defence, even in peaceful times, always reluctant to pull out the big guns until it was absolutely necessary.

His scowl darkened as he thought of Hiroshima in the forties and the H-bomb. The Americans had had no qualms about their big guns.

The bell on the door jingled and shut with a snap. He did not look up, but continued to meticulously clean the barrel of a twelve-gauge shotgun with a dirty white cloth.

The sound of several clicks around the store brought him out of his reverie. He was at the back, and could see the door from where he sat, but whoever had come in was too short to be seen as they meandered through the aisles, the tall shelves hiding them from his view. He'd have to either go find his customer or wait till she appeared. He felt safe in assuming it was female; no man he knew wore shoes that made that much noise.

Sure enough, a short woman came out from the last aisle at the other side of the store, her long white hair and black eyes shining in the cheap, fluorescent lights that hung over her head.

His jaw dropped open momentarily at the sight of her. She was young, beautiful, and painfully familiar. He could not remember ever having seen her, but there was something about her sharp black eyes that pierced his soul, speared it, and put him at her mercy.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts as she strolled toward him, her short skirt belying the intense look on her face. Her full lips held no smile for him, but were shaped into a sultry pout. _She knows what she wants_, he thought before he remembered to smile.

"Afternoon, sweetheart. Looking for anything in particular?" He poured it on thick; after all, it wasn't often someone as classy as she graced his dank little corner of the world.

She smiled back, resting her arms on the counter, and leaned forward, her cleavage spilling forth from a black, skin-tight shirt cut off just below her rib-cage, just high enough to set his blood to racing.

The speed with which she lashed out and slapped the grin off his face astonished him; when he looked at her after, she appeared to have moved not at all, but stood by while his mind tricked him into thinking that she'd struck him.

Rubbing his face, he watched her carefully as she spoke, inspecting her claw-like fingernails before speaking to his face.

"Don't call me sweetheart. If you have any brains in that greasy, uneducated head of yours, you'll keep your distance. Unlike other women, I really do bite."

Glaring, he dropped his hand and muttered, "What do you want?"

She leaned forward again, and he could not stop his eyes from straying southward again, until she hissed, "My face is up here, asshole," and continued after she was looking directly into his eyes and it stayed that way, "I need a handgun. Semi-automatic. Got anything in white?"

He quirked a brow. "White? Lady, guns are black. You can't personalize them, unless you got dough. Then, maybe I can paint one for you. Custom, like you want."

She smiled again, this time showing perfect white teeth. Suddenly he felt like he was alone with a lioness, and was about to be eaten.

Laughing, her land lashed out again and snatched his neck, her nails digging into his skin like daggers. Howling, she yanked his face close to hers, ignoring his putrid breath. "White. I want a white gun. Do not make me ask you again."

He nodded, and she released him. He sucked air back into his throat lustily, greedily. _This dame was lethal!_ He decided not to give her any more opportunities to touch him.

"Sure. White it is." Then, he made his third mistake. "ID, please."

Kanna wasn't sure if this man was dense, stupid, or ignorant; she decided on all three. He sure seemed to like digging himself in deeper. Her eyes flashed murder as she delicately reached into her purse, pulled out the cigarette case, and whipped it at his head, grazing him as he tried to dodge the silver missile.

Picking up the case, he looked at it, memories flooding over him as the initials _N.O._ danced before his eyes. _Naraku!  
_

_How had this hot bitch gotten his cigarette case?_ Onigumo never mentioned anyone in his personal life, except his bitch wife. He'd sold Naraku the gun he'd used to kill her. Smiling, he said, "Where'd you get this, darling?"

Kanna snarled, "What's it to you? Give it back. I won't ask again."

He laughed then, and stuffed it down his shirt. His blood began to pump again as her face grew red from anger. _She really was a spitfire!_ He became more attracted to her as the minutes flew past. Fleetingly he wondered how old she was, and prayed she was at least eighteen.

"Come on, honey, I won't return this until you tell me. I can wait all day."

Kanna fumed. _Did this asshole warrant an explanation into her personal life?_ If she'd known this man was going to be so difficult, not to mention dirty, unprofessional, skeezy… the list went on, she'd never have come here in the first place, but would have thought of an alternative means of obtaining a weapon.

Giving in, she smiled gracelessly. "It was my Father's, you arrogant prick."

Mouso almost gasped. _**That's** why she seemed familiar!_ In her eyes was the same cool emotionlessness that Naraku had had. They were two of kind, to be sure. Her ruthlessness alone was evidence of that.

Chuckling, he tossed it back her, and she snatched it from the air with one slim hand, jamming it hastily into her black leather purse.

"So he was. He never told me he had a kid."

"Did you ever care to ask?" she returned, her eyes narrowing. He laughed again.

"Got me there, babe."

She turned a lip up at his persistence in calling her pet names, but she let it go for now, feeling more in control now that she had the journal back in her possession.

"About my request. White. And an extra magazine. I assume it will come fully loaded?"

"It will." He stared at her a moment longer, seeing Naraku in her every expression. "You're his spitting image, girlie. And from what I've seen, you act like him, too. How is the old son-of-a-bitch, anyway?"

Kanna slung her bag over her shoulder. "Don't you read the paper? He's dead, idiot. I'll be back in three hours." Turning on her heel, she began to walk away, and he admired how her tight jeans hugged her ass when he blurted, "How old are you?"

She stopped, and turned, a smirk on her beautiful face. _Fire should be fought with fire_, she thought, _and you are about to get burned_.

"How old do you think I am?" she asked him, slowly sauntering back to him.

"Oh, I don't know… twenty-one?"

She laughed seductively, and he smiled. "You're a good guesser. Are you sure you didn't know that my Father had daughters?"

The plural of her last word caught his attention, and his smile grew.

"Daughters? There's more than just you?"

She nodded.

"That old bastard, he never told me anything, especially about his beautiful girls." He reached out and stroked Kanna's chin. He felt very optimistic about her; she seemed to be warming up to him quite nicely. "Where were you going to go for three hours?"

She shrugged. "Shopping."

He let go of her face and said, "Wait." Then, he disappeared into his office.

Kanna giggled to herself. _This schmuck actually believed she was twenty-one? What a dumbass._

She pulled out a compact from her purse and looked into the tiny mirror. She would give him what she could plainly see he wanted from her, if it meant getting her gun. When she had it, she would tell him her real age, and keep his loyalty and silence by threatening to expose him for having sex with a minor. He do time then, and she could go on her way, hopefully with the Sacred Jewel safe in her hands.

He returned a moment later, saying, "I ordered it, and my buddy over in the Reserve office is going to send it by Express Delivery. It'll be here by three."

"Excellent," she purred, coming around the back of the counter, stopping when she'd brought her slim body flush with his surprisingly well-muscled one.

He placed an arm around her neck, and brought his lips crushing down on hers, his tongue forcing her mouth open so he could explore its warm depths. She gave as good as she got, raking his back with her nails and entwining a leg around one of his own, grabbing his free hand with hers and bringing it to her breast, which he squeezed cruelly.

Releasing her, he ran to the door and flipped the _Open_ sign to _Closed_, then, coming back to her, he grabbed her hand and dragged her into the office, throwing her across his desk and slamming the door behind him.

Papers and pens and the telephone went sliding to the floor as he climbed on top of her, pulling eagerly at her shirt and trying to unzip her jeans at the same time. He'd never been real fond of that dick, Naraku, and it gave him supreme satisfaction that he would soon fuck that asshole's daughter, be he dead or no; the satisfaction would still be the same.

Kanna pretended that the man grunting and sweating on top of her and groping her breasts was Juuromaru, hot with his burning lust to have her body. She figured that the loser jamming his tongue down her throat would be none the wiser, since he knew nothing about her except her parentage. _A fuck's a fuck_, she figured, _no matter who it was from_.

He pinned her arms over her head, pulling up her shirt to expose her creamy white skin to his gaze, the temperature of the cool room evident at the wave of goose bumps rippling over her smooth, hot skin.

Kanna watched his eyes as he took in her breasts, heaving with her efforts to breath while he was pinning her, and saw him lick his lips. In her mind's eye, the greasy brown hair that hung above her was lilac-coloured, and straight, not greasy and wavy. The eyes that devoured her were not green but an intense blue, and the hands that pulled her jeans over her narrow hips were not rough and calloused, but smooth and large. She closed her eyes and let her fantasy play out in her head as Mouso had his way with her, his thoughts of retaliation against his ruthless benefactor replaced by his mounting lust as he pumped the perfect porcelain beauty beneath him, grinning with satisfaction every time she cried out with pleasure.

For the next three hours they laid in his office, panting, sweating, and giving to each other nothing more than their bodies, for she was lost in her own fantasy world and he was too busy getting what he could from her while it lasted.

He never saw her grip the letter opener in her small hand as she let him lead her into her seventh orgasm, and as she shuddered with satisfaction on her way down from her peak, she drove its sharp tip into his neck, his warm blood covering her hand and trickling down her arm like warm water.

He gasped, and tightened his grip on her hips, but soon, his eyes rolled back, he gurgled his last ragged breath, and he collapsed on her, his sweaty body sliding to the floor as she shoved it off.

_On second thought, I don't have time to ruin your life, Mouso_, she thought, taking a nearby cloth and cleaning his blood from her skin. _Your death serves my purposes much better.  
_

Dressing, she opened the office door and found a box sitting on the countertop before her, its stickers indicating it was an express delivery.

Grinning, she ripped it open, and held her gun, smooth and white in the light above her.

Tucking it into her purse, she exited the store, walking with no hurry downtown. Her efforts deserved a reward; she'd managed to get what she wanted and not pay a cent for it. _Awesome!  
_

Kanna had no idea how much like her Father she had become, even down to his cheapness. The man she hated was the woman she had become, but she couldn't see it, was blind to her own true self. She knew she was mean, sure, and that most people had a problem killing another human being, but she tended to forget her crimes once committed, so happy in the fact that she'd gotten away with murder, this time in every sense of the word.

She walked into an ice cream shop and ordered herself a smoothie, strawberry-banana, and sat outside sipping it in the sun, planning what she was going to do to get that Jewel, and what she would do with it once she had it.

A handsome young man sat down next to her, and she chatted with him until he left, nonplussed by his overly-interested conversation. She loved matching wits with men; she invariably always had the upper hand.

Night fell, but she didn't want to go home. She wandered until she found a nightclub that let her in despite her age, and danced all night.

**S.T.**

Sorry about any mistakes, guys, I gotta run to work (again) so this was kinda rushed. Hope you enjoyed, and I can't wait to hear from ya's! Love ya!


	31. Chapter 31

Well, dudes, sorry this took so long, but guess what? It's finished! Woot! Only a few more chapters to go, so I hope you haven't been ripping your hair out in frustration because I'm busy, but since I don't want to become like some people I know, I am trying very hard not to neglect you guys, cuz I mean, come on, without you's, I'd be nothing, so, here's to all my fans and reviewers, I love you guys, you've made this story worth writing, and I have no one to thank but you! You guys rock!!

Deds:

**Mystical Hanyou** - She sure does have a gun. Guess who she's going to use it on? Lol, sometimes a plot twist works out for everyone, no?

**cookiemonsterks** - Well... those were some highly volatile plans! Very tortuous. Are you sure you're not into S&M?? Scrubbing and mopping?!?! Hahaha! That was great, I laughed. I hope you like what really happens to her, and you're not too disappointed, cuz, damn, those were some pretty tight plans!

Well, that's it, only two I believe, if I overlooked you its cuz I haven't received any mail from the bot, so blame them, not me. So sad, only two... sniffle, I think I die!!

**Sweet Temptation**

Kaede climbed into her car and drove home, and Kikyou, shading her eyes from the sun's glare, watched her go. The older woman had once again called Kanna's cell, only to find that she'd turned it off.

Kikyou couldn't help but worry for the older lady. _If Kagura could barely fend Kanna off, how would Kaede fare?_

She rubbed her arms in the chilly late-afternoon air, and stepped back into the house, Rin materialising by her side.

"What's going on?" she asked, her eyes worried. Kikyou sighed.

"I don't know, Rin. Kaede says she's going to commit Kanna to a mental institution, but I doubt she'll go willingly. Look how much older Kagura is than Kanna, and she's taken quite a beating. I really don't think Kaede will have better luck, especially on her own."

Rin nodded in agreement. "I wonder where Kanna is now."

Kikyou wondered the same thing, and in an instant, the familiar surroundings of home were still there, but it was dark, and creepy. Looking through the living room doorway, she saw her sister Kagome, on the floor, sitting in a pool of light, clutching her stomach with one hand and looking at the blood covered fingers of the her other, as if the hue and saturation of her own life-force fascinated her, as if she was oblivious to death's proximity. She turned to look right at Kikyou, and whispered, "Help me, Kikyou," in a voice so faint Kikyou barely heard her. A bloody bubble burst from her mouth, and for the first time, Kikyou noticed the bloody hole in her chest, previously blocked by her arm, but now visible as all life fled from Kagome's body and her arm flopped down on her side, motionless.

Kikyou tried to call out, but could neither move nor speak; when she blinked, everything was as it had been only a moment before. Rin still stood next to her, fist under chin, her eyes far away in thought.

Kikyou wondered just how long her visions lasted; it appeared to be only a few seconds at most. Still, she felt more shaken and afraid for her sister's life than ever. _What's going on? Why am I seeing my sister's death?_

Kikyou wondered if she was clairvoyant, but decided she was not. She would be helping police track down killers if that were the case. She was unnerved that her subconscious mind kept showing her Kagome's demise.

_Was it a sign? And why did it change? Had the situation changed somehow, thereby altering the circumstances of Kagome's death? And most importantly, why me? Why am I having these visions?_

Kikyou looked at Rin but couldn't bring herself to burden her younger sibling with her thoughts. Rin had enough to worry about, and Kikyou decided to get her mind off of it.

"Rin, do you have any homework?"

Rin nodded, replying, "Yeah, I've been neglecting it lately. Thanks for reminding me, Kikki." She walked off in a daze, lost in her own thoughts.

Kikyou could sympathise; she knew how she felt. Watching Rin go, she then turned to her bedroom doorway, where Kagura lay dozing on her comforter, tossing every now and again, restless. Kikyou closed the door quietly, but Kagura opened her eyes and croaked, "Kikyou? Don't leave me…"

Kikyou came back into the room, and sat on the edge of the bed, taking Kagura's proffered hand and holding it tightly.

"What's wrong, Kagura?"

Kagura closed her eyes, and mumbled, "She's going to kill her," before her eyes opened wide and she sat bolt upright, her face glistening in the light from the window. Kikyou's brow furrowed.

Kagura's face was coated in sweat. Reaching out she felt her friend's forehead, shocked by the intense heat that radiated from her skin.

_A fever?_ She thought, befuddled. _Where would Kagura have picked up a fever?_

Then she remembered her dirty clothes, her purple, dirt-streaked face… _had Kagura managed to infect her wounds, or was it her hand?_ Kikyou didn't know, and it scared her.

"I'm calling the hospital," she said, reaching into her pocket and flipping open her phone. Kagura gripped her hand with the strength of someone three times her size. "_No_."

Kikyou was taken aback. _Didn't Kagura want help?_ "Why not?"

But Kagura refused to answer, shaking her head violently before falling back on the sheets, exhausted from the effort of sitting up.

"You stay," she pleaded weakly, her grip slackening. Kikyou flipped her phone shut, and, against her better judgement, did as her friend asked, and waited.

_I'll call when she's asleep_, she reassured herself. Ten minutes later her phone rang, and she answered. It was Kagome.

"Kikki, it's Kags. I'm coming home, but the guys are going to go out for a drink, and Sango and Ayame are going too. You wanna go?"

Kikyou was reluctant to leave her friend, and told her sister so.

"What's Rin doing?"

Kikyou replied, "Her homework. She's worried, too, Kagome. And I need to tell you something. I've been-"

"Kikki, honey, they're pushing me. You going or not? They're leaving now."

Kikyou didn't want to leave Kagura, but the offer was too tempting to resist.

Kagome said, "I'll stay with Kagura, if it'll convince you to go."

Finally Kikyou gave in and hung up, stroking her friend's brow gently.

Getting up, she left the room, not hearing Kagura plead weakly, "Don't leave me…"

**S.T.**

Kanna awoke with a start. The sun shone in her eyes, and she closed her eyelids shut tightly, trying to block it out, her head throbbed so badly.

_Fucking sun,_ she cursed silently, rolling over and flinging her arm out, only to hit something soft and warm that made an "Oof!" noise when she made contact with it.

Rolling over, she looked into the face of a man she'd never seen before, and began to panic. _Where the hell was she? Had they had sex? Was he diseased? He was cute, he might be_, she considered, the pain in her head forgotten.

"Good morning," he greeted her, and reaching out, began to run his fingers through her long, white hair.

Her eyes narrowed to slits and she tried to bite his hand, curling her lip and backing out of the bed, searching for her clothes.

"Whoa, sweetheart, no need to get nasty," he said, getting out himself to try and calm her down. She spied her clothes folded neatly on a nearby chair and hastily put them on, her bra and underwear still on her, much to her surprise.

"Who are you?" he asked, sitting on the side of the bed she'd vacated and watching her button her shirt.

"Shouldn't I be asking _you_ that?" she retaliated, looking for her purse. _If he'd robbed her_… She suddenly remembered her gun, and began to comb the room with her eyes frantically, until she finally spotted it on the floor by the door.

She visibly relaxed as he replied, "Well, a pretty girl like you, all alone on the bar scene, drunker than sin, ought to be looked after. Wouldn't you agree?" He smiled at her and her heart began to hammer.

_Why was she attracted to him?_ He wasn't drop-dead gorgeous, like most of her conquests were, but he had his own charm that strangely calmed her, and made her feel at ease.

"Are you saying that you brought me here, only to keep me safe? Nothing else?"

He folded his hands between his knees and smiled dismally at her. "Is that so hard to believe?"

She guffawed. "Yeah! I mean, not many guys out there would be that considerate, especially if I was as drunk as you say I was." Honestly, she couldn't even remember where she been last night, let alone who she'd been with.

He chuckled then, and confessed, "Well, I saw a beautiful girl that was wasted, and couldn't stand to have anyone take advantage of her, so I brought her home. Are you angry?"

She thought about it. She wasn't angry, not at all. She had been at first, but now, she felt as comfortable as she had when she was with her best friend back in England, Satsuki. She really missed Satsuki… _I should write to her_, she thought, before returning her attention to the man before her.

He was young, and fair of face; his eyes, a soft brown, looked at her from under short, unruly hair that reached just past his ears. His easy smile elicited a response from her heart that she'd been unaware she was capable of feeling.

Ignoring her heart for the moment, her eyes opened wide when he remarked, "Kanna is a beautiful name. Very fitting for a beautiful girl." To Kanna's extreme embarrassment, she blushed, the heat rising to her cheeks and spreading so quickly she had no time to control it. He was so different from any other man in her life. He was… kind, and she didn't even know his name.

"How do you know my name? And why did you ask if you already knew?" she asked, her familiar cloak of suspicion and distrust returning. He smiled wider, trying to reassure her.

"I wanted to be sure you knew. I looked in your wallet. Don't worry, I didn't steal anything."

Kanna wondered if he'd seen her gun in there. It was pretty hard to miss, being white. And she'd carefully inscribed her name on the handgrip with a pen that wrote in pink ink, truly personalising it as her very own. However, if he'd seen it, he didn't mention it. She smiled. _He really was a sweet guy_.

"Well, thanks for looking out for me, Mr…?"

"Please, call me Suikotsu," he said, rising, and holding out his hand.

She shook it and commented, "Nice boxers." They were covered in a repetitive pattern, toads alternating with tree frogs, brightly coloured and very detailed.

"Thanks," he replied sheepishly, reaching for his jeans. While he dressed, Kanna picked up her purse and reached inside, the now-familiar shape of the gun still in its place, completely relaxing her.

"How old are you?" she asked after he was fully dressed. He laughed.

"Older than you. Why do you think I kept my eye on you?"

She blinked. She had no idea, other than one. "You wanted to fuck me?"

He laughed again. "Hell, no. I'm no cradle-robber. Besides, I just got out of a relationship." He jerked a thumb at a framed picture on his nightstand. He and a young woman were waving at the photographer, and they were standing on a sandy white beach in some place that looked real warm. The woman had long bluish-grey hair and a sweet face.

"Her name was Botan," he told her. "She died in a car accident last year. I tried to save her, but…" he trailed off, and she did not ask him to continue.

Respectfully, she waited in silence for him to collect himself. "Sorry," he apologised, "speaking of her still makes me emotional."

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "Thanks again for looking out for me." She turned to leave, her hand on the knob, when he called, "Wait."

She stopped, but did not look back.

"Look, I really like you," he said, coming to her and taking her hand, yet she still would not look at him. "I'm sorry I brought you to my apartment, and not someplace more impersonal, like a hotel, but I'm doctor, Kanna. I couldn't let you leave that bar last night, intoxicated as you were, to fend for yourself in the city. Someone would have picked you off and you'd be nothing more than another statistic, 'Girl Raped and Killed While Intoxicated'. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't at least try to help you."

Kanna felt a hot tear gather in her eye, but blinked forcefully, pulling it back in. She would not cry before this kind, gentle man. _She couldn't_. "Thank you." She turned the knob, pulling her other hand from his. There was nothing more to say.

Suikotsu watched her walk out of his life as easily as she'd walked into it, unaware that she'd left much more than just her scent lingering in his senses. He saw potential in her, though he felt much, much more, deep in his heart. He would never take her, she was too young. But his heart mourned her age and her loss; what a pair they could have made if she were only older.

Kanna sprinted down the stairs that lead from Suikotsu's second-floor apartment in the downtown core of Tokyo, three blocks east of Tokyo General, where she assumed he worked. From the size of his apartment, he was financially secure, but somehow, she didn't care about that. No man had ever made her cry, only her Father, but never in remorse. She had seen his desire for her in his eyes, and how he'd gallantly put it aside in deference to her age. She found herself wishing she were five years older and three times less suspicious. She had a nagging feeling that she'd never find another like him, that most women never did, and sincerely hoped he found someone who deserved his love.

She walked toward the drugstore, wiping tears from her eyes as she realised that she'd just done Suikotsu the biggest favour by walking out of his life; she was hunting the Jewel, and he was better off not getting involved with a murderer. Besides, he'd only be in her way.

Passing a newsstand, she stopped and read the front page of the _Tokyo Times_. A head line half-way down the page caught her attention: _Man Found Dead in Gun Shop_.

_Shit_.

Walking faster, she reached the drugstore in record time, and casually made her way to the hair colour section. She quickly selected a dark brown shade and, paying for it, went to the nearest public bathroom, where she proceeded to die her silky white hair brown, almost black.

She needed that Jewel, and she needed it soon. _Tomorrow_, she thought. _I'll get it tomorrow, when everyone's at school and Sesshoumaru's at work_.

When her hair was completely coloured, she combed it back and let it air-dry. She looked completely different without her flowered hairclips and white tresses. Now, she looked older, more mature. She found herself regretting not having done this sooner, but forced herself to forget it.

_He was out of her league anyway. _

**S.T.**

Kagome sat with Kagura all night, and fell asleep with her head resting on the injured girl's hip.

Sesshoumaru shook her awake, and said, "Kagura's sweating."

Kagome sat up and noted the slick layer of moisture over her skin, and said, "Kikyou never mentioned a fever."

"Well, maybe she didn't know about it," he said, handing her a thermometer. She smiled her thanks and gently placed it between Kagura's lips, holding it so it wouldn't fall out.

"One-hundred and four," she said, reading the temperature. "Jesus."

"Let's get her to the hospital," Sesshoumaru said as he tried to scoop her up, but she thrashed at his touch, yelling weakly, "No, leave me here! She needs me!"

Kagome was confused. She suspected Kagura was too, if not delirious. Her worry climbed. "What are we going to do, Sesshoumaru? She refuses to let you move her, but she needs medical attention. What can we do?"

Sesshoumaru looked at his watch. Ten after ten, Sunday morning. _Would the clinic be open?_ He doubted it. "Can't you call your doctor?"

Kagome's doctor, Suikotsu Suzuki, was young, but experienced. He would be delivering their baby when it came. "I can try."

She got up to find the phone. Sesshoumaru watched Kagura's eyes flutter under her eyelids as she dreamed, occasionally thrashing, and crying out in her sleep. He felt a certain fondness for this once witchy girl who'd tried to blackmail him into loving her. He smiled a little. He couldn't fault her for trying, nor for making the right decision when it really mattered. He sat in Kagome's empty spot and took her good hand in his own, offering her what he could through his touch alone.

Kagome came back into the room, talking to a hospital nurse. "He's off-duty today? Well, can I possibly have his home phone? It's an emergency. No? We can't bring her in, she refuses to leave the house. You will? Thank you!" She covered the mouthpiece with her palm. "The Nurse is going to give me his home phone."

Sesshoumaru smiled.

"Thank you, Nurse. Goodbye." She hung up, and then dialled the doctor. "I hope he's home," she muttered as she wandered out of the room again, not wanting to wake Kagura.

Suikotsu picked up after three rings. "Suikotsu Suzuki."

"Doctor Suzuki! Thank God you're home! It's Kagome Higurashi calling."

"Kagome? Is something wrong with the baby? Are you spotting!?" He sounded worried.

"No, Doctor, nothing like that. I have an injured girl on my hands here who refuses to leave the house to go to the Emergency room. Could you possibly come over here and check her out? Her temp's one-hundred and four."

There was a small pause on the other end, but then Kagome heard the rustle of Suikotsu's jacket. "I'll be right there. Where do you live, Miss Kagome?"

"Fifty-five Hope Street," she replied, and the Doctor smiled. _Hope. What a nice thought_. "See you soon, Higurashi."

Kagome thanked him and hung up.

Returning to Kikyou's room, she said, "He's coming, Sesshou-"

She stopped mid-sentence as she saw the scene before her.

Sesshoumaru ruthlessly held Kagura down on the bed, his arms pinning her arms and his knees pinioning her legs.

"Oh my God," Kagome breathed, praying Suikotsu would hurry, "she's seizing!"

"Help me!" he yelled, losing his grip on her wrists. Kagura was unaware of her body's reaction to the high fever that heated her veins, boiling her blood in defence against the foreign invader of her body. She dreamed that Kikyou and Kagome were in danger, and that she could see them, but remained powerless to help them, she was so sick. It aggravated her to no end that she could do nothing to alter the scene that kept repeating in her mind's eye like an old filmstrip.

**S.T.**

Kouga awoke in his bed on Sunday morning, hung over but happy. Ayame lay snuggled up next to him, soundly sleeping in his arms.

He wondered why it had taken him so long to notice her. Her red pigtails would have been babyish and immature on anyone else, but on her, they only added to her sex-appeal. He took a flaming strand in his hand and brought it to his face, sniffing it. _Her hair had the nicest smell_.

Across the hall, Sango was wondering how she got herself involved with the womanising twit who held her tightly, as if letting her go would be forfeiting his own life. She hated his habits but could no longer deny that she loved him. He made her feel like the woman she was becoming, and he was no slouch between the sheets, in her opinion. _Maybe his womanising had a plus side_, she considered. Sex with him was never stale, or boring. It was something new and exciting, every time.

Shippo rolled into nothing, having been too young to go carousing with his brothers the night before, but all the same, he missed yesterday's treat, waking up face-to-face with Rin, and sweetly kissing her mouth to awaken her. Her smile had been its own reward.

Inuyasha lay on his side staring at his beautiful Kikyou. He thought about her carefully, and tried to momentarily squash the love for her that blinded him, so he could take an objective look at her. This childhood friend of his, his enemy, his lover. She was slightly heavy, and her skin was still flawed, but in his eyes, she was perfect. He loved her face, her body, her soul. She had a beautiful soul, giving and thoughtful, like none of her sisters. They were good girls, but his Kikyou was the best.

Suddenly he wondered what he had seen in Kagome to make him overlook the angel sleeping soundly next to him. Reaching out, he stroked her cheek, gently, so as not to wake her. He thought he could spend the rest of his life staring at her, just waiting to talk to her. He eagerly anticipated what she would say, what she would want to do today. _Would he be a part of her plans?_

He suddenly found himself overcome by a vehement desire to be a permanent part of her life. _Would she agree?_ He decided to wait until he mentioned his thoughts; he wanted to ascertain first if she felt the same way. _So far, so good_.

Kikyou felt Inuyasha stroke her face, but refused to wake up. She wasn't ready to end her dream, in which Inuyasha slipped a golden band on her finger and promised to never leave her. She smiled, completely happy.

Finally, she opened her eyes and stared into a pair of golden ones, just bursting to talk to her. She stretched, cat-like, before pulling him closer and wrapping his arm tightly about her, his other hand resting firmly over her heart. "Good morning, Inuyasha."

"Sleep well?" he asked, his lips reaching out to encompass her own.

"Mm-hmm," she purred, opening her mouth and letting him in. He tasted slightly bad, but she cared not; if he wanted to kiss her before she brushed her teeth, she would not stop him.

He released her mouth to say, "I love you, my angel, my Kikki." He waited in agony for her to return the sentiment.

She smiled, and yawned, taking her time. He really was the sweetest boy she knew, or had ever known. He'd been callous at times when they were young, he still was, but he'd always defended her from his brothers, and sometimes even her own sisters. They'd not fought often as children, but when they did, their spats had been short-lived and quickly forgotten. Her Mother had always said they were meant for each other, she and Inuyasha.

Kikyou smiled at the fond memory. She was smitten with him, always had been. Being in his arms now only made the memories sweeter.

"I love you, too, Inuyasha," she replied, kissing his eyelashes and placing her hand over his over her heart.

"Can you feel it?" she whispered in his ear. "It beats faster and faster. Whenever you look at me, I get warm, Inuyasha. I'm getting warmer and warmer all the time." She felt him respond when she moved her thigh between his legs, could feel him pulsing against her.

_Kanna may have had him first_, she thought, smiling into his lusty eyes, _but he'll never want her like he wants me_.

Inuyasha thought she'd drive him mad with her teasing. He'd changed his mind. His sleeping angel had awakened into a hot, sexy tease, and he would make her pay!

Rolling her onto her back, Kikyou enjoyed the pleasant sensation of his weight on top of her. He splayed his fingers under her back as he kissed her throat and neck, leaving a hot trail of desire in his wake. She closed her eyes and submitted her body to him. She'd read about this in books, but realised how much sweeter it was to experience it firsthand.

He parted the button-down shirt he'd lent her to sleep in, and kissed each breast, worshipping them, possessing them, and her. He looked up at her face, her eyes closed, revelling in the sensation of his hands on her, and he smiled. _Putty in my hands_.

"Do you have any idea," he murmured, licking her navel, "how desirable you really are?"

She laughed lustily, replying, "Only because you're getting your way with me." He smiled into her skin, her flat belly resounding with her laughter.

She was smoother than silk, and he bracketed her hips with his hands, picturing her swollen with his babies, and answered, "I think I want you to mother my children, Kikki."

Kikyou's eyes flew open, and she drew in a greedy breath. _Had she heard him right?_ She was too young to get pregnant, she thought, but she wasn't worried that that would happen. She just knew she wasn't ready yet.

She reached down to massage his scalp with her fingers, responding, "In time, babe. I will never deny you."

She looked down at him, and he smiled, before his head disappeared beneath the covers and she clamped her jaw shut, suppressing the moans of pleasure he was eliciting from her. She pulled him back up to kiss his mouth, and tasted herself on his lips.

Splaying her thighs for him, she gave him access, and, quietly, in the light on the Sunday morning sun, they made love, sweetly, passionately, silently.

Kikyou didn't think she could ever be happy with anyone else.

Inuyasha never wanted to let her go.

**S.T.**

Mmm, lemony-fresh, haha! Anyway, I'm hoping for more reviews than last time, cuz two, at this point in the game, is so small!! Wah! I'm greedy for reviews. I waited this long in case the bot was slow, but I guess I waited in vain. Satisfy your appetites my pretties, then satisfy my greed. Please? Pretty-please? With a cherry on top???


	32. Chapter 32

Well, this is the second last chapter, dudes! It's been a long road, but a great one, and I loved every minute! Lots of reviews this time, too, which gives me incentive to drop a hint that I'm writing a new story - whoops, did that slip out?!?! Lol!

Deds:

**StercumAccidite** - Hahaha, I know, I'm bad for that. Just the way the cookie crumbles!

**Mystical Hanyou** - Think so? I have a feeling but... nope, I ain't ginin' it away! You'll just have to read and find out!

**cookiemonsterks** - What's a V-card??? I find lemons a cinch, I just write about what I'd like to happen if it were me, lol! Really, I have no experience (yet), so I just use mon imagination!

**Leesa **- Thanks! Enjoy!

**AldreaHart** - You are forgiven, since I vaguely remeber what that's like (it's been a while). Hope you find time to relax and have a read!

**Sweet Temptation**

Kaede arrived home, only to find it empty. Sighing, she tried Kanna's phone again, but got the same message: the person she tried to call was unavailable.

Knowing that Kagura was safer at the Higurashi's, she made her way tiredly across the foyer toward the massive staircase. She spied some debris on the floor on her way by, and stopped to have a look. Picking up the pieces, she realised it was what was left of Kagura's cell phone, the deep pink hue of the plastic making that clear.

_What was going on?_ She thought, sweeping up the pieces and disposing of them. Kagura loved her phone, had saved for months to buy it, having discarded the old red one her Father had paid for. Why was it laying here, shattered into a million pieces?

Kaede knew Kagura would never have done this herself, not on purpose, anyway. That left only Kanna, which was becoming the major problem. _If she'd known the girl would be so much trouble, she'd have left her in England_, she mused, but chastised herself for such thoughts. Kanna needed love, but had never received it from those she loved most. The poor girl was demented with her hatred, a lack of love in her young life to blame for all her schemes and designs on others. She suspected that Kanna was not a virgin, nor had been for a long time. A girl of her disposition and attitude would crave sex, hoping to find love, and look for it wherever she could, be it in the arms of a man or a boy. What she'd needed from her Father she sought from others, trying to fill a void in her heart that only Naraku could sooth, but never had; he'd feared her, and in his fear he had cast her off, seeing her as a threat to his own plans. In her he'd recognised an enemy, and had disposed of her post haste.

Kaede shook her head. If only he'd loved his girls, how different they'd be. Kagura used to be the same way; a spoiled, scheming brat whom no one liked and no one associated with, despite her Father's wealth. _She and Kanna were more alike than they even knew_, she thought, settling into bed and turning off the light.

But, in the past months, Kagura had blossomed into a beautiful, faithful, wonderful young woman, all thanks to the love and friendship of the Higurashi girls. In making friends with them, she had opened her eyes to a world in which love was sought, given, and a gift; where it was valued above all else, loyalty and honestly following closely on its heels.

Kaede closed her eyes and sighed. If only Kanna would let someone love her, someone she could love in return, she'd be much better off. _But_, she reasoned, dropping off into unconsciousness, _old habits are hard to break_.

**S.T.**

Kanna checked into the Best Western Hotel on East Street, booking a third floor room for herself. She was sick of looking like a homeless girl, wandering the streets and malls, dying her hair in public washrooms, which were disgusting. She didn't even want to remember touching the taps, then vigorously sanitising her hands afterward, her skin burning from the alcohol.

She settled into her room and unloaded her purse, making sure the _Do Not Disturb_ sign was placed outside her door. She had a Sacred Jewel to gain possession of.

She lay back on the plush bed, and put her arms behind her head. She closed her eyes, and suddenly she began to reconsider her plans. _Was the Jewel really worth it?_ Naraku had certainly thought so, and look where he'd ended up: six feet under. For some reason, after meeting Suikotsu, Kanna realised that throughout her entire life, she had never done one nice thing for someone else, and meant it. Usually when she did something for someone, it was designed to ultimately hurt them, and benefit her, and her alone. When she thought of Suikotsu, and his words about saving her from her fate, she realised what a horrible person she really was, and tears began to stream from her eyes. She hadn't even known him, but he'd gone out of his way to look after her well-being. It made her feel lower than a worm.

_Was that why nothing in her life satisfied her? Was it her own stubborn hatred for everyone who was happy and had something she did not that spurred her to hurt them? _No one deserved what she had done to them, she knew; she felt horrible for the first time in her fourteen years. _Was the Kanna everyone loved to hate really her?_ She rolled onto her side, and thought, _Why Daddy? Why did you hate me? Why did you love Kagura and send me away? Why?  
_

Her heart ached as Kanna cried, letting out all her sorrows and bottled-up emotions. She looked at the gun in her hand, her named written in the bright pink ink, glaring up at her from the palm of her hand. The suicidal thoughts entered her mind without her even noticing; she realised that they'd always been there, hovering around in the background, never far away. Suddenly the white pistol began to look very friendly, and the fact that it was white made it even more benign, like an angel's gun. A black gun would only have made her evil thoughts fester, but the bright sheen on the matte paint of her weapon reassured her, eased her, comforted her. With one gentle pull her misery would end, and she doubted she would be missed. She had done nothing worth remembering anyway.

Getting up, she used the hotel pen and stationary to write a note, making several drafts and crumpling them up, throwing them into the wastebasket. Finally, she'd composed a note to her satisfaction, and sighed. Satisfaction. _So this is what it felt like_. It was nice.

Standing before the window, she watched the sun rise on this warm, Sunday morning, and made her peace with the world. Raising the gun to her temple, she took her last breath and smiled. _Maybe she'd get into Heaven after all. Suicides went to Hell as a rule, but maybe she'd get lucky_.

The sound of a bullet exiting the chamber of a semi-automatic handgun bounced off the walls, now sprayed with blood.

A fourteen-year-old girl lay in a puddle of blood on white carpet, a serene look frozen on her face.

A white gun lay limp in her hand, reddened by her sanguine life-force, which faded and died as the sun rose, gilding the room in liquid gold.

A girl had done her first selfless deed, at the end of her life.

**S.T.**

Early Monday morning Kaede received a phone call from the police, asking if she would please come to the crime lab.

She phoned Kagome, who'd reassured her that Kagura was alright. When she hung up, Suikotsu came out of Kikyou's room, his sleeves rolled up and his face tired.

"Her fever's broken. She'll be alright. I'm going to give her a prescription for antibiotics, they should clear everything up."

He wanted to ask Kagome so badly what the girl's last name was, when Sesshoumaru came out and said, "She's awake, finally."

"Great," he said, heading back in.

Kagura sat up in the bed, her hair a mess and her skin damp, but she was cognizant, and asking for something to eat. Suikotsu took her hand in his.

Kagura looked at their hands and then at him. "Doctor?"

"You look awfully familiar, Miss Kagura," he remarked, and her cheeks flushed at his formal address. "You remind me of a girl I fostered last night."

"I do?"

"Yes, her name was Kanna."

Kagura's eyes widened and she whispered, "Kanna? Kanna Onigumo?"

He smiled. "Yes, that was her name. Sad, lonely girl. I got the impression she'd had a hard life, poor thing." He had not found the gun buried at the bottom of her purse when he'd tried to put a name to her lovely, pale face.

Kagura shook her head. _Was she still delirious, or did this doctor meet her sister and actually survive to tell the tale?  
_

"I'm sorry sir, but it must have been someone else. My sister is not someone you would want to meet. She is vindictive, spiteful, and did all this to me," she told him, holding her hand up last. He frowned.

"She did?"

"Yes, sir. She hates everybody. I doubt it was her you met."

"Hmm," he replied, deep in thought. _Maybe this young woman was right. But they looked so similar…_

"Are you sure?" he persisted. "You look so much like her, only… different," he finished lamely.

She shook her head. "I'm told I look like my Mother, sir. She was fair, and my Father dark."

"Well, you're probably right," he said, getting up. Handing her a slip of paper and explaining the dosage to her, Suikotsu left Kagura, and grabbed his coat and medical bag, getting ready to leave.

Kagome caught him before he left, opening her wallet, but he held up a hand, stopping her. "No payment necessary," he told her, and waved off her protests to the contrary. "Saving one more life is payment enough, Miss Higurashi. You keep taking folic acid tablets and go easy. I'll see you at your next appointment."

And then he was gone.

**S.T.**

Monday morning at school was awkward. The Higurashi girls and the Taisho boys stuck close together, and wondered why everyone kept looking at them so oddly.

Dispersing to go to their lockers, Inuyasha pulled Kikyou back and kissed her mouth, right there in the hall in front of everybody, and whispered, "I'll see you at lunch."

She smiled, and replied, "Sure thing." He grinned and walked away, his hands in his pockets.

Kikyou went to homeroom, as did everybody else, and sat down to listen to announcements. She tuned them out until the last one came over the P.A System.

"This morning at eleven, there will be a memorial service for Kanna Onigumo in the auditorium."

Kikyou's eyes snapped open, as did everyone else's who'd known her. Tsubaki, in her senior science class, leaned over to her best friend and whispered, "She's dead? What happened there?"

By the time eleven o'clock rolled around, Kikyou was frantic. _Had Kanna faked her death and gotten to Kagome while it was just her and Kagura at the house? _She hadn't had any more visions; _was that a sign, too?  
_

When she finally found Inuyasha and her sisters she was panicking, and told them so.

Sango whipped out her phone. "I'm gonna make sure they're okay." She turned away from the noise of the crowd, and came back a moment later, shoving her phone back in her pocket. "She said she's fine, and that the Home called for you, Kikyou. They want you to work tonight." Ever since this whole ordeal with the Jewel, the girls had taken a leave of absence from their jobs to protect their sister, but, it appeared that their protection was no longer necessary. Still, she didn't feel like working.

Kikyou sighed in relief, then, her eyes flew open once more. "So it's true? She's dead?"

"We're about to find out," Kouga observed as the Principal walked to the podium onstage and began to clear his throat into the microphone.

He began his speech in earnest.

"Kanna Onigumo was a new addition to this school, relocating to Tokyo from an exclusive boarding school in England just after the death of her Father, a very short time ago. She was younger sister to Kagura Onigumo, whom many of you know; she was a bright young woman, born on August thirty-first, nineteen-ninety-three. A few of you may have gotten to know her, but she was here for so short a time it would surprise me if she was able to leave much of an impression on anyone."

_She left an impression, alright_, Inuyasha was thinking, and from the way Kikyou stiffened next to him, he knew she was thinking the same thing.

"Kanna was a debate major at her previous school, captain of the dance team, and a member of several other clubs and committees. Her life was tragically cut short yesterday morning, and I hope you will all join me in observing a moment of silence to commemorate her life."

The auditorium fell silent, and Kikyou could not help the relief that flooded her heart now that Kanna was really gone, though she'd not truly believe that until she saw a gravestone, or heard from Kaede herself. She knew how devious Kanna could be, and would not put faking her own death past her. If it would help further her purposes, she'd do it, at the drop of a hat, Kikyou knew. So she remained suspicious, though she observed the proprieties like everyone else.

After the moment of silence the Principal finished his speech.

"Kanna's family has asked that donations be given in lieu of condolences to the Tokyo Hospital Donation Fund, and that they be left in peace at this time."

Everyone began to leave for lunch after a slideshow of pictures from Kanna's childhood and her days at boarding school.

Meeting outside, the two families sat together in the grass to eat their lunch on the hill behind the school.

Sango was the first to break the silence. "Wow," was all she could say, and Inuyasha added, "Yeah. Heavy."

Then, they saw Kaede leaving the school, a manila folder in her hand, her face red.

Kikyou waved her over, and she sat down among them, slowly, carefully.

"Doubtless you are wondering what happened to her," Kaede assumed, and they all nodded, mute.

"Well, I received a call this morning from the police, asking me to identify a body. The papers had gotten to her even before I could. She-" Kaede had been fond of the vicious girl, despite her villainous ways.

"What, Kaede? What happened? Please tell us! Does Kagura know yet?"

Kaede shook her head. "Not unless Kagome's told her."

Kikyou thought she probably would. If it was in the papers it would be on the news, which Kagome watched sometimes. If she hadn't seen it on television Sesshoumaru had likely heard it from someone at work and called her, though there was a chance she still might not know.

Kaede continued. "She… she took her own life. They found her at a hotel downtown, dead in her room. She'd shot herself."

Kaede began to cry now, and they all gathered close to offer comfort. She sniffed, and kept speaking.

"Oh, she was so pale on that steel table, my children. She was almost unrecognisable, the bullet blew off the left side of her face on its way out..."

Rin thought she'd puke, and Shippo looked pretty green. Kouga had no expression on his face, and Ayame's features were sad. Sango looked righteous, as if justice had been served, but a tear could be seen in her right eye. Miroku appeared deep in thought, his hand on his chin, while Inuyasha frowned deeply. Kikyou began to cry, quietly.

They sat quiet for a while, lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Kouga spoke up.

"It took guts to do what she did, you know. Do you think she did it because she had a change of heart?"

They all felt that was unlikely, but Rin commented, "Stranger things have happened."

They all nodded in agreement. Kaede sighed. Kouga's guess was very close to the truth, though she kept these thoughts to herself.

"I'm going to go to Kagura. She needs to know."

Kikyou nodded. "We're coming too, Kaede. You shouldn't be alone right now."

Kaede smiled at her. She really was a very thoughtful young woman, someone she knew Kagura greatly admired. Yes, she was right, she shouldn't be alone. Friends and family were the best things for her and Kagura, and she was not going to pass them up.

They all headed for the parking lot, when, behind them, Inuyasha heard someone call his name.

Juuromaru caught up, out of breath from running. Stopping before them, he gasped, "I heard. Are you going to see Kagura?"

Inuyasha replied, "Yeah. You coming?"

"You bet." He grinned, but it faded quickly. "Any of you need a ride?"

Kikyou said, "Rin, Shippo, why don't you go with Juuromaru?" and they nodded, following him across the lot to his black Maserati.

When they all got home, and poured into the house, Kagome came to meet them at the door. "Why are you guys home so early"

"So you don't know?" Kaede asked, astounded.

"Know what?"

"Kanna's gone," Kikyou said, and Kagome frowned. "What do you mean, she's gone? Where did she go?"

"Castle in the sky," Miroku mumbled, and Sango elbowed his rib, making him grunt.

"She committed suicide yesterday morning," Kaede informed her, and Kagome's mouth formed an 'O' but no sound came out.

Juuromaru edged his way up front. "Where is Kagura? Is she alright?"

Kagome smiled a little. This must be the young man Kagura was telling her about over breakfast in Kikyou's bed.

"Yes, she's fine. She's eating, and has been watching movies in your room all morning," she said, looking from Juuromaru to Kikyou.

"I'll tell her the news," Kaede said, shuffling through the living room toward the hallway and bedrooms. The rest of them waited in the living room, patiently.

Kaede pulled Kanna's note from her purse before entering Kikyou's room. She had not told the others about it because she felt Kagura should be the first to read it, it being addressed to her, after all.

Kagura sat back against the headboard, her breakfast tray empty of food next to her, and a bottle of water in one hand, a remote in the other as she watched _Pirates of the Caribbean.  
_

Kaede quietly closed the door behind her and Kagura heard it, and turned her head, grinning. "Kaede! I hoped you would come back today. Have you found Kanna yet?"

Kaede ignored her question for the moment and replied, "You look much better. How are you feeling?"

She sat on the edge of the bed, and felt Kagura's smooth forehead. Her temperature was perfect.

"Great. What's that?" She gestured to the note in Kaede's hand.

Wordlessly, Kaede forfeited the note to her.

Kagura took it, and unfolded the stationary, smoothing it out on her lap. The Best Western Hotel logo was printed across the top. She began to read her sister's spidery writing.

_Kagura,  
Well, what can I say to you that will make you believe I'm sorry? I know I haven't been the best sister (in fact, I'm probably the world's worst sister), but at any rate I wanted you to know a few things about why I am the way I am.  
Dad loved you. What was that like? He sent me away because he hated me, Kagura, and as much as I hated him for that, I let my rage move on to you, because he kept you; I know it was wrong of me, and I can never take it all back, but if I could have prevented my own conception, I would have done it. You and your friends did nothing to deserve my contempt, and I'm very sorry for all the trouble I caused, especially between Kikyou and Inuyasha. Please tell them I'm sorry for that, too.  
Kagome is no longer in danger from me. I have given up my quest for the Sacred Jewel. I met a man last night who saved me, even though I didn't know his name. He saved me from myself, and from making any more grievous mistakes. You see, I killed a man yesterday, and felt no remorse. But when I woke up next to Suikotsu, all that changed, and so did I. Please, if you ever meet him, give him my sincerest thanks. He's a doctor.  
Lastly (I know, how could there possibly be more?), I want to apologise for anything malicious I ever did to any of your friends, Kaede, and you, Kagura. You were my only sister, and I treated you like shit, and I cannot fix what I have ruined. An apology is not nearly good enough to make up for my indiscretions, so I'm probably doing you a favour by ending this. I hope your life with Juuromaru is a good one, and the lives of your friends as well.  
Although I never wanted to admit it, I love you, Kagura, and hope this note reaches you, and gives you a measure of comfort to know that you are safe from me.  
_

_All my love, Kanna_

_P.S. All the shoes I took from you are in my room, and the six-inch heels are Kagome's. Curse my weakness for shoes!_

_P.P.S. Please tell Kikyou that Inuyasha called her name the entire time he was with me. I think she'd want to know that. She's a very lucky girl. I hope they're happy together._

Kagura's face was moist with her tears as she re-read Kanna's suicide note one more time.

"He didn't love me, either," she murmured, before dropping the note and covering her face with her hands. As much as she'd hated Kanna, that hatred died with her.

Kaede picked up the note and read it, a sad smile touching her lips. Kanna may have taken her life, but in the end, she'd done the right thing. There was a shred of good in her, after all.

When Kagura had collected herself, she let Kaede guide her out into the living room, where several faces turned to greet her. Her eyes went to Kikyou first, who smiled sadly, then straight to Juuromaru, who motioned for her to sit next to him on the end of the couch.

He took her hands in his when she was seated and asked her, "How are you?"

She smiled. "As good as can be expected, I guess."

He grinned, and leaned into her face, whispering, "Can I kiss you?"

She responded by darting her lips forward to peck his own, before turning her attention to the others.

Kaede made herself comfortable in an easy chair vacated by Inuyasha, who currently searched the cupboards in the kitchen for a snack.

Handing Kagome the note, she said, "Kanna left this note near her body. I think you should all get a chance to read it."

The room was comfortably silent as the note made its way from one person to the next, reaching Kikyou's hands last.

When she read it, she began to cry, and said, "You see? There was a little bit of good in Kanna, even if it took someone else to bring it out of her. If only she had had a change of heart sooner, we could have saved her life, too."

Inuyasha sat down next to her on the carpet and tugged her close. "She wouldn't have let you save her, Kikki," he said, rubbing her arm. "She had too much hate in her heart, and by the time any of us could come upon her, it would have been too late. Besides, if it hadn't been for this Suikotsu guy, we'd be here yet, worrying for your sister's life all the same."

She nodded, agreeing, but not liking it.

Kagura spoke up. "You guys, I can't thank you enough for putting up with me and Kanna. I know she was a pain, but she was my sister, and I just wanted to thank you guys for respecting that and not casting me away. I'm so sorry all this had to happen. Kikyou, I'm sorry it had to be my sister who tried to destroy your relationship with Inuyasha; Kagome, I'm sorry it had to be my sister who wanted to take your life over some silly bauble; Sesshoumaru, I'm sorry I used to be just like her."

Then, she turned to Juuromaru. " Juuromaru, I'm even more sorry that you had to put up with us as well. I'm sorry you had to know her when she was like that. Honestly, she never used to be that way. When we were little…" she trailed off, her emotions forcing her to stop and let them out. Juuromaru tugged her closer and stroked her hair, tucking her under his chin and shushing her sobs.

"No need to apologise, Kagura," he said, with forced cheerfulness. "Despite your sister, I'd have pursued you anyway."

She smiled, and sniffled, turning her face into the warm wall of his chest.

Kagome put her hands together and stood up. "Well, if this isn't a pity party, I must be blind. What do you guys say we have a drink and toast Kanna's life? Rin, Shippo, you too," she said, beckoning to her sister. "Sesshoumaru, what have we got?"

Gettong up, Sesshoumaru went into the wine cooler next to the fridge and pulled out an expensive bottle of Pinot Noir, a gift to him from his Father. "How about the Noir? I think it suits her memory," he said, popping the cork as Kikyou got up and opened a top cupboard, gathering several crystal wine glasses.

When everyone had their wine, Kaede held up her glass and said, "To Kanna: may your peace be granted."

"Cheers."

Kikyou raised her glass. "To good friends, and love, may we always be so fortunate to have both in such abundance."

"Cheers."

Finally, Kagura stood up, and Kagome said, "Make a toast, Kagura. You deserve a kick at the cat."

Kagura smiled, and held up her glass. Her companions followed suit.

"To love, and life," she toasted, looking fondly at the lilac-haired boy next to her. "May you rest in peace, Kanna, and those of us you left behind never forget your memory, or your spirit. You live on in our hearts and our minds, and I, for one, will _never_ forget you."

The whole room clinked their glasses together and shouted, "Cheers!"

**S.T.**

Omg dudes, just the Epilogue left! Cry! Oh, I'm glad it's over though, so I can soon start posting chapters from my new story. It's a total riot, I love it so much! _Sweet Temptation _ has been my baby; I've never written a story so long, not in my life, and I must say, it's overwhelming. I'm so proud of me!! Yay! I love you guys, cuz you make it all worthwhile. Drop me a line, because the fun's almost over, and I want to hear from you all again before it's over. You guys rock!!!


	33. Chapter 33

Well, guys, this is it, the end of the line. I'm so happy with it, too! I hate for it to end, but like all good things, it must. First, I would like to thank everyone who read my story and sent positive reviews, you guys were a god-send, and I love you! You made this story possible, and without your kind words of support, I would have abandoned this beast from the start.

Secondly, lately I have been receiving some very antagonistic reviews from one particular person, who I'm certain did not even bother to read my work, and, after writing a strongly-worded e-mail to this _very_ impertinent individual, I feel much, much better! Apparently I'm not the only one whom they flamed, unnecessarily, so, hopefully with my angry outburst I have provided a measure of justice for everyone else that dumbass insulted. Go to hell, asswipe!!!

Lastly, I am writing a new story, and will be posting it soon, so don't lose hope, because I will return shortly with more, I promise! I hope you all like it, its kinda got a borrowed plot from a movie, but hey, I like it! I hope you guys do, too. Thanks again, and I love you all! You so totally rock!!!

Deds:

**AldreaHart** - Hahaha, that still doesn't answer my question, but oh well, it doesn't matter. I'm glad you liked it, that flamer I got the other day really bummed me out, but you made it all better!!! And I know, Bio totally sucks ass, I hated it! Passed by the ass of my pants, too, cuz I had an allergic reaction to something while writing my final project, and i scared my teacher, cuz my eyes were all red and pus-sy! Gross, huh??

**Jen** - I missed you! I felt so much better after hearing from you!! Your a crackup, you know that? It was a smack on the ass, eh?!? Haha, I would retire if I were making any money! But somehow, writing is worth the lack of money. Seems to make it less...oh, whats the word I'm looking for?? Thesaurus! Help me! Lol, I like to throw you guys off, don't want to be too predictable, heehee...

**Mystical Hanyou** - Awww, did you?? Sweetheart!! I didn't mean to make you lacrimate!! (Is that right?? My Latin fails me) I liked it too, it was such a turnaround for her. I'm glad you liked it, it validates my decision to end her life in a way that wasn't so violent, but did everyone a favour. Nice of her, eh??

**Concealed Rose** - Hiya, long time no hear!! I'm glad I was able to temper your dislike of SessxKag. You'll be happy to know that my next fic is InuxKag, so you'll enjoy it even more! You flatter me, how could I not write fast, with all this positive feedback?? Hahah, I think this is under-reviewed too, but that doesn't matter. A few faithful reviewers are better than a whole hand-full of one-timers. I'd rather get to know you guys and what you like than getting just one impersonal review, it's so much more rewarding! You are forgiven for not reviewing, hearing from you once is better than hearing from you not at all, I'll take what I can get!

Author's Note: You guys are awesome. There were two more reviews for the last chapter, but you guys were way more positive than them, so I omitted them from the Deds. They weren't worth posting a response to, so in deference to my thanks and the effort you guys put forth to review, they are not up here. Thanks again to all the people who reviewed, and I hope to hear from you all again soon. I couldn't do this without your kind words of support. Rock on!! I love you all!!

**Sweet Temptation**

_Epilogue_

Daichi and Amaya sat close by as their son and his fiancé exchanged wedding vows, their little boy bouncing on Amaya's knee, gurgling happily and drooling all over his little tuxedo.

The pair shared their first kiss as a married couple before joining the crowd around them, to accept congratulations from their friends and family.

The bride's sisters were decked out in long, black satin gowns, and each held a small bouquet of white roses. Kagome wore a simple, short gown, backless, with spaghetti straps and lace edging the hems. Her hair was piled atop her head, and a crown of flowers held it in place in the late afternoon sunshine.

Amaya handed Kagome her baby, eighteen-month old Daichi Jr., who eagerly held his pudgy arms out to his mother. Sesshoumaru shook his Father's hand as he slapped his back, remarking, "You did good, son. She's a keeper, alright!"

Amaya hugged Kagome and the baby, whispering, "Welcome to the family, my daughter."

Kagome grinned, and replied, "Thank you, _Little Mother_," and winked.

The groomsmen milled about the crowd, waiting their turn to collectively congratulate their brother and new sister-in-law. Miroku leaned close to Inuyasha's ear and whispered, "Sango looks amazing in that dress, no?"

He chuckled, replying, "Not half as amazing as my Kikki." And, pulling his hand from his suit-jacket pocket, handed Miroku a tiny velvet box.

"What? For me?" he joked, and Inuyasha jabbed him in the ribs, a constantly sore spot for his lecherous brother. Opening the tiny case, he beheld a diamond engagement ring, studded with two tiny white sapphires flanking a larger, sparkling, princess-cut diamond.

"Wow," he remarked, and brought it closer to his face.

"Nice, huh. Think she'll like it?"

Miroku put the ring back in its box and turned to his brother. "You're serious about her, aren't you?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He pointed at the box, and cuffed his brother's head. "I love her, Miroku. You've never had anything come between you and Sango, so you don't know what it's like to be afraid of losing the one you love."

Miroku nodded, agreeing. "However, as much as I love Sango, she has displayed no interest in marriage, Inuyasha. What makes you think Kikyou is ready for something of this magnitude?"

"She's ready," he said, grinning. Miroku frowned. Inuyasha obviously wasn't going to give him anymore than that.

"Well, good luck."

Inuyasha flashed him a toothy grin. "Thanks."

Kikyou approached her sister from behind, and offered to take a sleepy Daichi Jr., so Kagome could properly receive her guests.

"Thanks, Kik," she said, smiling and rushing off to hold her husband's hand as their guests streamed by, eager to get the formalities over with so they could move on to the reception, which was being held in the Taisho's backyard. The wedding was performed in the Higurashi's backyard, since there was more space for seating. The fence that had separated the two properties for as long as anyone could remember had been removed, and a crew was busily laying a dance floor. The space both yards offered was more than enough for the meagre amount of guests that milled through them.

Kikyou spotted Inuyasha and he pulled her away from the crowd, his nephew reaching out and nabbing a fistful of white hair to add to the black one he already had of his aunt's who held him.

"Inuyasha, where are we going?" she asked, but he only smiled. _What are you up to?_ She wondered.

Music began to drift through the twilight air, and patio lights lit up the night as couples began to convene on the dance floor. They passed Ayame, and Inuyasha stopped, taking the child from his girlfriend's arms and saying, "Here Ayame, make yourself useful and put this little nipper to bed."

Ayame gladly took the little boy, his tiny suit soggy and soiled from a full day's drool. "No problem," she replied, and took him away, and Inuyasha grabbed Kikyou's hand once more, leading her to the secluded bench in the very back corner of his parent's yard, surrounded by a dense screen of shrubs and blooming night-flowers. The scent of their nectar hung sweetly in the air.

He sat her down, and took her hands in his. She smiled, and looked at the dance floor for a moment.

She spied Sango, fending off a randy Miroku, who pursued her persistently; Rin danced shyly to the slow song with Shippo, who looked very content with his young date; Kouga stood on the sidelines with the other men, a beer in hand and searching the area for Ayame. Sesshoumaru led Kagome gallantly around the floor, twirling her elegantly and making her dress swing in the breeze.

In the far corner of the floor, Kagura danced hip-to-hip and nose-to-nose with Juuromaru, their lips locked in a passionate kiss. Doctor Suikotsu drank wine from a glass and watched Kagura from afar, forlornly remembering her younger sister. She smiled at them all, even Kaede, who danced merrily with Grampa Higurashi, who'd come all the way from Osaka for the occasion.

Daichi stood behind Amaya at the buffet table, his nose nuzzling her neck, his one hand gripping a heaping plate of food while the other brushed her slim waist. She smiled back at him, and laughed out loud at something he'd said.

Inuyasha squeezed her hands, trying to regain her attention. She reluctantly tore her gaze away from all the happy couples and looked at him.

When he had her undivided attention, he took a deep breath and began to speak.

"Kikyou, I love you. I want you to be happy, and I want to be with you for the rest of our lives." She watched with amusement as he dug around in his pocket, frowned, then dug into his other pocket before producing a small, black velvet box and presenting it to her.

Her breath stilled in her lungs and her heart skipped a beat as she accepted it, and pried open the lid. There, it the light of the paper patio lanterns, a beautiful engagement ring winked at her, its golden band shining, the precious gems gleaming in the dim light.

"Will you be my wife, Kikyou?" He asked, throatily. She was so quiet. _Did she like it? Why was she so still?_ A billion questions raced through his mind.

Kikyou put a hand over her heart and looked up at him, trying to ascertain the sincerity of his request. The desire and hope in his eyes left no doubt in her mind that he was completely serious.

"Oh, my God, Inuyasha, yes!" She flung her arms around his neck and pulled his lips to her own, sharing her joy with his eager mouth as it covered hers and coaxed her tongue out to play.

They broke for air, and he slipped the beautiful ring onto her left hand, and she turned it this way and that, admiring it.

She turned back to him and pulled him into her arms once more. "I love you so much, Inuyasha. Thank you!"

Pulling back so he could see her face, he asked, "Would you care to dance, my lovely fiancé?"

She giggled, and replied, raising a delicate brow, "Lead the way, lover."

He pulled her onto the floor, where they danced closely together, their young lives stretched out before them, their family and friends surrounding them in the glow of their love. Life was perfect, and as Kikyou watched her man's eyes, staring lovingly into her own, she knew that it didn't get any better than this.

This was bliss. This was what dreams were made of, and she was living it.

She never wanted it to end.

**S.T.**

Well, bunnies, that's that. I hoped you enjoyed this epic (as Concealed Rose calls it) tale, and tune in to my upcoming fic. Can't wait to hear from you all, and thanks again!


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